How Things Smurf
by LadyRaven-321
Summary: Two smurfs are surprised when they wake up 500 years in the future. How did they get there? And what happened to the home they once knew?
1. Strange Awakening

**Hi once again, readers. This is the third story to my smurf saga. If you haven't already, then I suggest you to please read 'The Smurfette Village' and 'Return to the Smurfette Village' before reading this story. There may be some scenes that will be mentioned that have been introduced in the previous stories (for example, the smurfettes).**

**The first few chapters in this story could sound confusing at first, but as the chapters evolve all will be explained. My madness has a reason for telling this story as it has for all my fan fiction stories. Feel free to make guesses on what will happen or why things are happening the way they are in this story. I will look forward in hearing your reviews as I post each chapter.**

**As usual, I do not own the Smurfs, but I have created the smurfettes right from childhood. These stories are for fun, and in no way am I making any profit from them.**

**Enjoy the story!**

**Chapter 1: Strange Awakening**

**YEAR 2005 – Somewhere in Europe, High in the Mountains **

At first glance the cave appears to be deserted. Everything is covered in dust and cobwebs dangle from all corners. It does, however, show that it once had an occupant that may have lived in this cave. There are statues all around the cave of a strange dark demon-like creature, and a stone thrown with a carved word that faded through time. The word barely makes out as 'Asmoday'. It sits, barely standing at the far end of the cave. Apparently the occupant must have abandoned this cave a long time ago.

The calm stillness of this dead surroundings is suddenly shattered by a rumbling noise. Over towards a narrow tunnel crackling sounds comes from the stone at the end. Light seeps through the cracks as the large stone shatters into small pieces and fall. Outside two smurf shape silhouettes stand, one smurf is holding a glowing red stone and the other is holding a glowing blue stone.

"Well, that wasn't so bad!" A young female voice echoes in the cave from outside.

"What'd I tell ya? Piece of cake!" A young male voice spoke next. The owner of the voice takes a step forward to investigate the walls of the entrance after putting his glowing blue stone into his carry bag. He is indeed a smurf. But not a normal smurf, no, he has an entirely different wardrobe on one that you would not see an ordinary smurf wear. His outfit is close to one that a student from China might wear. The smurf hat is longer down the back of his head, and a fold just in front of his ears. From his hat to his shoes, the smurf's outfit is all dark purple, save for the buckles in front of his shirt. They are white. On his left ear, the smurf also wears a small gold loop earring.

"Yes. Well… Now for the difficult part. To find the sleeping smurfs." The owner of the female voice walks in. She is a blond smurfette with pink streaks. On her face she has on purple and light blue eye and lip make up. Her outfit is a dark purple hat with matching top, long sleeve fingerless gloves, and high top boots that ride up past her knees. The skirt is light pink that is split on both sides, exposing her long booted legs. On both of her ears, she wears one long gold loop earring, and one small loop gold earring. She too puts her glowing red stone into her own carry bag before walking past the smurf.

"Do you have to make this sound harder then it really is. I'm sure this will be like…" The male smurf stops to notice that many of rock formations all look similar as do as the crystals that grow around the cave as well. Everything is covered with a thin layer of dust and cobwebs.

"…like finding a needle in a hay stack." He grumbles.

"HA! And you thought this would be an easy mission." The smurfette laughed.

"Oh, smurf-up and help search for our sleeping smurfs, will ya! This place gives me the creeps." The smurf groaned.

"Hmm… Now if I were two smurfs trapped in hibernation crystals, where would I be?" The blond punk smurfette thought out loud.

She peered down at an odd shaped stone. It looked slightly bit different from the others. By the looks of it, it just might be big enough to hold a smurf inside. The smurfette investigated the stone closely. She took a guess and figured that the stone must have stood straight up at one time. The smurfette started whipping the dirt off the top. A big smile grows on her face once she notices a smurf figure trapped inside.

"Hey, dim wit. Over here! I found one of them!" She cries out to her partner at the other end of the cave.

"Do you mind? We are supposed to be professionals now. The Elders trained us especially for this mission. I personally don't think name calling is appropriate at all." The smurf said, crossing his arms in protest.

"Whatever," the smurfette chuckled. "Just help me lift him up will ya!"

"Why don't we just use our magic to lift him?" The smurf shrugged as he holds up his right hand and wriggled his fingers, causing twinkling lights to pop up.

"No. You heard the Elders. We must only use our magic to remove the barricade that blocked the entrance, and to free the sleeping smurfs. Otherwise, we are wasting too much of our energy." The smurfette lectured.

"Yap, yap, yap." The smurf mocked, as he used his other hand as a talking puppet. "Fine, you win, _Madam Elder_." He finished with a gentlemen's bow.

"That is not even funny! You are so going to get it when this mission is over." The smurfette growled, as the two of them struggled to lift the trapped smurf in heavy crystal. They finish by leaning the crystal up against the wall of the cave near where the large throne is.

"Man," the smurf panted, "Dude, when this is all over I totally recommend you going on a diet." He jokes to the smurf in the crystal.

"There," the smurfette said with a sigh of relief, "now where did his mate get too?"

The smurf turned around to glance at some other crystals and stones that appeared to look all alike. There is one that catches his attention, however. One that looks so close to the one they had just lifted. He starts wiping the surface and smiles to see a female form of a smurf with golden hair.

"Here she is." He chirps. "Ok, at the count of three, we lift."

"One, two, three…" They both chime before lifting the other heavy crystal.

After placing the smurf shaped crystal up beside the other one, the two smurfs stop to take a breather.

"I say step two has been completed." The male smurf addresses.

"Agreed. Now to begin step three." The smurfette says, pulling out a red ruby-like stone with a gold rim out of her carry bag. The same one she used when she and the smurf broke down the barricade. It looks like it is only half of a stone shaped Egyptian beetle.

"Right. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can get home and eat." The smurf adds, as he too pulls the other half of the beetle, but it is a blue sapphire stone.

"You are always hungry." She giggles, holding up her stone with her left hand.

"Hey, I'm a growing smurf." He explains, holding his stone up beside hers with his right hand.

"Oh yeah? Are you trying to grow up or out?" The smurfette laughed.

"Ha, ha! Laugh it up, will ya? Why don't you start?" The male smurf grins.

"Sure. Why not?" The smurfette nods. With a serious expression, she begins to focus her attention to the two sleeping smurfs inside the crystals. Raising her right hand up towards the smurfette's crystal, she begins to chant, "Toughette and Hefty Smurf."

"The strongest smurfs of the old village." The male smurf adds while raising his left hand up to the sleeping smurf's crystal.

"We release the curse that has trapped you, so awake now!" The both of them chorus at once.

The two color stoned beetle reunites as one and begins to glow brightly as do the eyes of the smurfs holding it. A strong wind mysteriously blows inside the cave causing the cobwebs and dust to fly off the crystals. Gradually the crystals melt away, exposing more of the features of its trapped occupants.

"It's working!" The smurfette shouts with glee.

As more of the crystal melts away, Hefty and Toughette slowly show signs of breathing once more and waking up. Their feet touch the ground, but at first their body is still so numb that they need to lean up against the wall of the cave for support.

The two smurfs that freed them watch with excitement as the young couple come out of hibernation.

"Welcome back Hefty and Toughette. It sure has been a while." The young smurf chirps, stepping up towards them.

"What? Where are we? H-h-how did we get here?" Toughette asked sleepily while rubbing the tiredness from her eyes and looking at her strange surroundings.

"Yeah. Who are you two?" Hefty asked once his sight focused more.

"You…you don't recognize us, Hefty?" The young blond punk smurfette asks in a disappointed tone.

"No. I'm I supposed too?" He answers flatly.

"Oh, forgive us. You probably don't know us by are names yet." The punk smurf says with a hint of embarrassment.

"And they are?" Toughette speaks up in an irritably manner.

"I am Sorcerette, and this is Sorcerer Smurf." The punk smurfette said politely.

"Like I said, it has been a long time since you've seen us. That is probably why we don't seem familiar to you." The young smurf said.

"We've met before?" Hefty asked trying to sake the cobwebs out of his head.

"Oh now this is really embarrassing." The punk smurfette blushed. "They might not recognize us, because they don't know us by our names now. Betcha you would know if we told you the names we originally went by." She said.

"And they were?" Toughette asked, showing herself as becoming very impatient by the minute.

The two young smurfs looks at each other and smiles before turning back to Hefty and Toughette.

"We were formally known as Babette and Baby Smurf." Sorcerer Smurf said.

Both Hefty and Toughette's jaws instantly dropped. How was this possible? Many more questions formed in their minds. Questions like, why were they even in this cave? How did they get here? Where are Papa Smurf and Mama Smurf? Why aren't they here? And, how long were they really out? There are just so many questions that not one single one could get out.

Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf noticed their struggle with comprehending all of this. Their faces grew very nervous as they would try and figure out a way to calm them and explain with little details.

"N-n-now we understand that you two may have a lot of questions right about now." Sorcerer stutters, holding his hands out in 'halt' fashion.

"But you will have to trust us, ok. A lot, and I mean a lot, of time went by. That and your memories may seem foggy at first, but they will clear up in time… _I hope_." Sorcerette finishes in a whisper.

"Just answer us one question." Toughette said in a demanding voice.

"Um, o-o-ok." Sorcerer nervously shrugged.

"How **_long_** were really in this cave? It couldn't have been more then hundred and fifty years. I mean you two were babies when we last saw you. Now you are practically the same age as us." Toughette points out.

"Yeah. Well… It has been just a little bit longer then a hundred and fifty years for you two." Sorcerette says, trying to tip-toe around the subject.

"**How long!**" Hefty snaps loudly. His booming voice echoes off the walls of the cave.

The un-expectancy of volume Hefty's voice had made the magic smurfs jump.

"Aaah, I'd say just over five hundred years." Sorcerer said in a sheepish voice.

"**WHAT?**" Both Toughette and Hefty shouted in shock.

"No, no. That doesn't make sense." Toughette said shaking her head and calming herself down a bit. "If it really has been over five hundred years you two would be much older."

"Ok, yes. True. But like you two, Sorcerette and I have also been in these hibernation crystals for some time." Sorcerer explains.

"We were finally released over a hundred and fifty years ago by the Elders." Sorcerette added.

"Elders?" Toughette raises her eyebrow in curiosity.

"That's enough questions. Please, you must trust us, and let us take you home. I'm sure by then your memories will hopefully return." Sorcerette tries to assure the confused smurfs. She and Sorcerer Smurf begin to lead the strong smurfs out of the cave.

"Yes. Take us back to the Smurf Village. Maybe Papa Smurf or Mama Smurf could explain a few things to us." Hefty said, crossing his arms.

Sorcerer and Sorcerette paused. They are not sure how to tell them. With sadness in their eyes, they turned back to Hefty and Toughette. Right away the two strong smurfs realized something is not right.

"Th-There is still a Smurf Village…right?" Hefty asked nervously.

"In a word…no." Sorcerer could barely make the words come out. He worries more of Hefty and Toughette's reaction now though.

"I don't understand. What happened?" Toughette gasped.

"Toughette please," Sorcerette pleaded, taking the golden blond smurfette's hand into hers. "You have to trust us. Your memories are temporarily gone. It is the side effect from being inside these hibernation crystals for a length of time. But don't worry; you will regain your memories very soon."

"Yes. And in the meantime, let us take you home. Our new home." Sorcerer says.


	2. Meet the Elders

**Chapter 2: Meet the Elders**

"Ok, so you might have guessed by now that smurf transportation has updated since you last remember." Sorcerette says looking back from the cockpit of the smurf plane.

"Yeah, bet you never expected to actually be flying like this before. Did you?" Sorcerer asked, looking back from his steering wheel.

"Gee, who'd know birds made of metal could actually fly." Toughette said, holding onto her seat in fear of actually falling out of it, even though she does have a seat belt on.

"Yeah." Hefty added with a petrified look. He is sitting in the seat beside Toughette, farthest from the window. "Handy must have really out done himself when he built this thing." He calls out to the two magic smurfs.

"Uh, s-sure…" Sorcerer answers him with a confused expression on his face.

"_Sorcerette, who's Handy?"_ Sorcerer Smurf asks his partner by using telepathy.

"_He must have been one of the smurfs from the Old Village_." She answers back, also using telepathy.

"_Oh, right. The Elders often mention them during their history lessons_." Sorcerer nods before returning his focus in flying the smurf plane.

"So, uh, where did you say our new home was again?" Toughette asks.

"It's now on another land called Canada. We will have to cross the ocean to get there." Sorcerer tells them.

"This thing is going to fly us over the ocean?" Hefty said in a panicky voice.

"Are you kidding? No. That thing is going to fly us over the ocean." Sorcerette says, pointing out the front window towards a larger plane, ten times the size of their smurf plane.

Hefty and Toughette let out a loud gasp when they catch a glimpse past the cockpit and out through the front window to see a Boeing 747 aircraft. Neither of them has ever seen anything like it in all their lives. Not even the tallest dragons in Europe could match the size of this thing.

"Hang on. This plane is about to have a few extra passengers." Sorcerer sang, as he takes the smurf plane down towards the cargo deck of the 747. Both he and Sorcerette focus on their magic to make the smurf plane and its passengers invisible.

The humans loading one of the luggage filled container aboard fail to notice an invisible miniature passenger plane gliding in and landing safely on top of it. As soon as container is in place, the cargo doors on the side of the plane close up, securing everything inside for the upcoming flight.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The Boeing 747 successfully lifts off the ground and takes flight towards its destination over the Atlantic Ocean. Inside the cargo deck, the little smurf passenger plane sat fastened tightly with magnets and grappling hooks attached to both sides the walls of the Boeing. There would be no way for it to slide off during the entire trip.

"Well, that was another smashing take off. Don't you think Sorcerette?" Sorcerer asks the punk smurfette beside him.

"Totally. But looks like our sleeping smurfs may not have enjoyed it as much as we did." Sorcerette says looking back at Hefty and Toughette, whom both wore a petrified expression on their faces.

"Hmm, guess the noise might have been too much for them even though we put ear plugs in so it wouldn't be so bad." Sorcerer shrugged. "Why don't you go calm them while I go get us some snacks from the upper decks?"

"Fine. But don't you dare go get lost or get distracted with the in-flight movie." Sorcerette says, shaking her finger at him.

"Ok, ok. I'll be right back." Sorcerer waved her off before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"**Hey!** Where did Sorcerer go?" Hefty cried out in a panic voice when he sees the smoke dissipate, but Sorcerer is no longer there.

"Relax; he just went to get some food to snack on during our long trip." Sorcerette explains, getting up from her co-pilot's seat and walks up to Hefty and Toughette.

"**What?**" Hefty shouts at her.

It took Sorcerette only a second to figure out what is wrong.

"You can smurf these out of your ears now." She speaks in a loud clear voice as she mimes pulling ear plugs out of her ears.

Toughette and Hefty look at each other before following Sorcerette's instructions in pulling out their ear plugs. They can still hear the loud engine of the plane. Neither of them felt so scared for their life before. Everything they've seen so far is so different from the time period they are most familiar with.

"There is that better?" The punk smurfette asked with a positive grin.

"Not really." Toughette stated.

"A-Any luck in remembering anything yet?" Sorcerette asked.

"No. My mind is a complete blank. I don't know if I will ever remember what had happened." Hefty said honestly.

"How about you, Toughette?"

"I am as confused if not more then Hefty." The golden blond smurfette replied.

"Don't you worry, I'm sure everything will clear up soon." Sorcerette says, patting the two strong smurfs on their shoulders.

A puff of smoke appears once more and Sorcerer returns with one package of peanuts and one package of cookies.

"Honey, I'm home." He cheers holding up the snacks.

"You are such a riot. I'm surprise you came back so soon." Sorcerette says, raising her eye brow to her partner.

"Yeah, well… I've already seen the movie they will be playing. And trust me; it is not worth seeing again." Sorcerer says. "Ok, who's all hungry?" He asks Toughette and Hefty.

The two strong smurfs were so fixated on the strange packages Sorcerer is holding up, that they were not sure how to answer him when he asked his question.

"Um, it's called plane food. We just open them up at either end…like this." The magic smurf demonstrates by peeling apart the rapper. It makes an odd crinkling sound as he pulls at it. Sorcerer reaches in as soon as it is open and grabs an object from inside.

"Voila, a Peanut."

"Oooh." Hefty and Toughette chime at once. This is the first time they actually showed how impressed they were with something. For them it was looking at a magic show, where someone would pull a rabbit out of a hat. They recognize that it is indeed a peanut Sorcerer is holding up, but usually smurfs would need to break and peel off the shell in order to get to it.

"How did you do that?" Toughette gasped in astonishment.

"Do what?" Sorcerer turned to the golden haired smurfette with a perplexed expression.

"You know… How did you make food come out of that strange bag?" Hefty says, pointing to the large plastic package in Sorcerer's hand.

"Yeah, what else can you pull out of that thing?" Toughette asked with excitement. She has always loved to see magic tricks being performed.

Sorcerette couldn't help but to giggle, even though she understands their reaction. Sorcerer sits down in the seat behind her and begins to break off some of the peanut to prepare eating it.

"There are only peanuts in that bag, smurfs." She tells them. Sorcerette reaches into the bag and pulls out two more peanuts.

"Here you go. Try them. They are salted to give them extra flavour." The punk smurfette hands the peanuts off to Hefty and Toughette before reaching back into the bag.

"Hey, get your fat butt out of my face I'm trying to eat here!" Sorcerer Smurf complains.

"Who are you calling 'fat butt', Mr. 'I once nearly ate ten Twinkies in one sitting'!" Sorcerette shot back after grabbing her own peanut.

"What are you talking about? Twinkies are the best. I could have eaten another dozen of them."

"Ha! If I remember correctly they sure didn't last long in your stomach."

"Ok, so I made a little bit of a mess on the living room floor after eating them."

"A little mess! It took the Elders all night to clean it up. Not only that, but they banded you of ever eating those disgusting things ever again."

"I still protest against their decision of that. Smurfs can eat anything, you know."

"Oh please. You throwing up only proofs that smurfs cannot digest artificially flavoured process lard."

"Shh! Sorcerette your not suppose to give the secret of what is really in a Twinkie. That's sacrilege. And beside, the only reason those Twinkies didn't stay down is because I ate too many. That and I was still very young at the time."

"Gee, and the smurfs back home said we argued a lot." Toughette whispered to Hefty.

"What's a Twinkie?" Hefty shrugged.

"Trust me, you don't want to know. They are terrible." Sorcerette tells them.

"They are not!" Sorcerer says in a whinny voice.

"Just ignore him and enjoy your peanut, smurfs." Sorcerette giggles, before sitting down beside Sorcerer. She breaks a piece of her peanut and starts eating it.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Hours have gone by, and things seem to have quieted down more in the cargo deck. Hefty and Toughette appeared more relaxed to be point that were even taking a nap. Sorcerer Smurf looks back from his seat and smiles at how adorable the strong smurfs looked, leaning up against each other as they rested. The magic smurf gets up to walk over to the side door of the plan and opens it. He leaps out before taking a stroll around the smurf aircraft. At the same time he decides to do a routine check on the security of the magnets. In order to check on the grappling hooks attached to the frame on the sides of the Boeing, Sorcerer has to teleport himself to them through using his magic. In a puff of smoke he disappears from the spot he stood to right where the grappling hook is attached on the metal frame.

Meanwhile, in the smurf plane, Sorcerette sits in her co-pilot's seat and listens to her cd player with headphones on.

"_Borderline, feels like I'm going to lose my mind. You just keep on pushing my love over the borderline_…" She sang to herself while listening to the music.

Without her even noticing, Hefty and Toughette slowly opened their eyes to see if they were being watched. Sorcerer is not the plane, but left the side door open. Sorcerette is too distracted listening to her music to pay attention to what is going on around her. Taking this opportunity, Hefty and Toughette get up from their seats. Apparently they were playing possum in sleeping. They tip-toe towards the open door, and poke their heads outside. It didn't take long for them to see Sorcerer on a metal ledge that is the body frame of the large plane they are riding in. He is examining the grappling hook to make sure it is secure for the landing. Without him knowing, Hefty and Toughette jump off the smurf plane and run off to the edge of the luggage container. They realized the only way down is to slide down the side of the container. Once the strong smurfs touch safely on the floor of the cargo deck, they run down to the other end of the plane and disappear around another container.

Sorcerer, unaware that Hefty and Toughette have run off, nods approvingly over the security of the hooks. Waving his arms up in the air, he vanished in a puff of smoke just to reappear back into the smurf plane.

He stops in complete shock as soon as he realized the only smurf in the plane is Sorcerette – singing to herself, a little off key mind you, with the Madonna cd she is listening to. He realizes that he was stupid enough to leave the side door open when he left. Quickly he rushes to the door and looks out, hoping that the smurfs hadn't run too far, but sees that they are not anywhere in sight. Sorcerer turns and glares at Sorcerette in the co-pilot's seat.

"_Keep on pushing me baby. Don't you know you drive me crazy? You just keep on pushing my love. Over the borderline_."

"Hey! Where are Hefty and Toughette?" Sorcerer snaps at her.

Sorcerette shot her eyes up like a deer caught in headlights.

"What are you talking about," she cries, pulling off her headphones. "They are taking a nap, right over…there?"

To her surprise the two seats where the smurfs once sat are now empty.

"I don't get it. There were there a second ago."

"Oh man! The Elders will smurf us if we lose them!" Sorcerer begins to panic as he pulls down on the side flaps of his purple hat.

"Will you relax? We are in the cargo deck of the plane. Where could they possibly get too?" Sorcerette said in a more calm voice.

Hefty and Toughette successfully find a spot far enough away from the container where the smurf plane sits. The two of them squat down in the corner, hopping that they are now officially out of sight.

"I think we lost them now." Hefty breathed hoarsely.

"Yeah. As much as I love Babette and Baby Smurf, I just don't know about the smurfs they have turned into…and their choice in outfits." Toughette snorted.

"No kidding. I've seen Papa Smurf dress up as a clown and looked better then those two." The strong smurf smirked.

Toughette's face grew more serious as she let out a heavy sigh. "What happened to us Hefty? One minute we were living out our care-free life with our fellow smurfs and smurfettes, the next we are in a dark creepy cave."

"I wish I could tell you, Toughette. Everything is so strange here. I feel like a fish out of water." Hefty tells her. He begins to rub his sore tummy.

"I think I got indigestion from those peanuts and cookies." He grumbles.

"Me too," Toughette complains, also rubbing her tummy. "Strange _food_, strange _smurfs_, strange _smurfs_ singing strange _songs_…"

The large Boeing 747 does a sudden jerk; knocking Hefty and Toughette back on their tails.

"…Strange _noises_, strange _bumps_…" Toughette continues with a more shaky voice. "Hefty I'm really not liking this place at all! I feel like I'm the belly of a large beast!" She says, turning to her mate.

"See, I told you they couldn't have gone too far." A female voice chimed from on top of the container behind them.

Hefty and Toughette look up to see Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf sliding down to join them.

"Look, you two are smurfy and all, but in case you hadn't noticed Hefty and I are really ready in getting out of this thing now." Toughette demanded.

"It's ok, smurfs. This ride is almost over anyway." Sorcerer assures them, convincingly.

"Thank smurfness." Hefty mutters.

Just then the plane jerks again, knocking all four smurfs back.

"Ok, that is the second time this thing has done that…**What is going on?**" Toughette screeched.

"Oh that. That is normal. The plane has just hit an air pocket." Sorcerette explains.

"We are now descending from over 8,000 nautical miles in the sky, smurfs." Sorcerer adds. "So let's go back the smurf plane and…"

"**We're how high…?**" Hefty cried with a cracked voice, cutting Sorcerer off. His eyes started growing to the size of saucers.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

In the 747's cockpit, the co-pilot hears a low sounding alarm and notices a warning light going off on the control panel. He taps lightly on a small blinking light to see if it actually correct or if it is a glitch.

"What th…" He whispers nervously before turning to the captain sitting in the chair beside him.

"Ah, captain, there seems to be some kind of disturbance in the cargo deck."

"Hmm, it looks like something is banging against the wall near the floor of the plane." The captain says studying the readings the computer screen is giving him.

"Do you think it could be a terrorist attack?" The co-pilot asked with wide eyes.

"No. It seems too small to be anything like that. Betcha something just got loose, and is getting jerked around as we are landing… Oh, look, whatever it is it suddenly stopped." The captain said noticing that the computer shows that all is ok.

"Sh-Should we report this?"

"Only if it starts up again. We are about to land anyway. I'll get the engineers to have a look at it before we take off again."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**AN HOUR LATER…**

As soon as the Boeing 747 landed and opened the cargo deck doors, the little smurf plane flew away without being noticed. Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf, both, using their magic once again to make them and their plane invisible to the human eye.

The moment they see that they are clear enough away from the airport, Sorcerer and Sorcerette release the invisibility spell. Nervously, the magic smurfs glance at each other before peering back at their two passengers. Hefty is secured tightly with rope wrapped around him. Toughette has her arm around him too in order to keep him calm.

"Wow," Sorcerette finally spoke. "Toughette you weren't kidding when you said we needed to tie him up in order to stop him from wigging out back there."

"Wigging?" The golden blond smurfette gives the punk smurfette an unsure expression.

"Uh, she means, the way Hefty reacted back in the cargo deck. You know, the banging on the walls, kicking and screaming. That sort of thing." Sorcerer explains.

"Well, I would have been ok if you hadn't told me how high we actually were." Hefty spat angrily. With a softer expression, he turns to Toughette.

"You can untie me now." He tells her softly.

"Are you sure?" She asks in a tenderly fashion.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Hefty nods.

"Ah, Toughette. Are you sure that is a good idea?" Sorcerette cried, seeing the tough smurfette releasing Hefty from his bonding.

"Look, I know Hefty alright. If he says he's ok, he'll be ok." Toughette tells the punk smurfette.

"Well, you will be happy to know that we are almost home." Sorcerer chirps.

"That's a relief. I don't think I could take much more of all this flying." Hefty grumbles with a pale face. He begins to rub his arms to get the circulation back into them after being tied up so tight.

"**HEFTY!**" Toughette shouts as she grabs Hefty's arm.

"What?" Hefty answered, nearly falling out of his seat.

"**Look!**" The golden blond smurfette starts to tug at Hefty's arm roughly as she pointed towards the window.

"Oh please, Toughette, don't make me look. You now how I feel being this high up off the ground." The strong smurf said, turning his eyes away from the window and covering them with his free hand.

"Hefty, this is important! Take a look!" Toughette forced her mate's face towards the window.

Hefty's jaw dropped once he sees many large towers that seem to reach for the sky. Most of them are made of glass that captures the sun's reflection magnificently. A weird, and largest, dragonfly looking creature flies by with a loud 'whooping' sound. Their attention draws down as they watch another metal bird with long odd looking feet gliding towards the wide river below and landing with splash. The strange bird reminded the strong smurfs of a duck landing on the water back home. What seemed more impressing are the floating vessels of all sizes moving with incredible speed on the water. They are nothing like the S.S. Smurf or any of the human ships back in their time. Never would they ever known a bunch of vessels could move as fast on the water as these vessels can. Off further down the wide river the smurf plane flies over the biggest looking bridge Hefty and Toughette ever seen. The bridge is made of iron and weird looking wagons are riding themselves across it.

Sorcerer and Sorcerette smiled as their passengers watch in awe over the scenery below.

"Welcome to the 21st Century, Smurfs." Sorcerer says.

Hefty and Toughette turn to the magic smurfs in disbelief.

"Don't worry; we'll give you a tour of the city later. Right now, I'm sure you will want to be reacquainted with the Elders." Sorcerette adds with a wink.

The strong smurfs continued to look out the window to watch all the tall towers again. They seem to get smaller and smaller as the smurf plane pass each one. Hefty and Toughette realize that the plane is now traveling over what look like houses now. Gradually the houses become fewer as more trees appear. Next thing the smurfs realize is that they are flying over a mountain. Now everything seems to be a more familiar sight with the trees and other vegetation everywhere.

Sorcerer pulls up a head set with microphone attached to it. He puts it on his head and flips a few switches on the control panel.

"Smurf control, this is Smurf Plane 1. Just letting you know that we are coming in for a landing." He speaks clearly into the mic.

"_Are Hefty and Toughette with you?"_ A strange static voice responded over the speakers.

"Chill dude. **'Operation: Reunion' **is in full effect here. I told you there will no problems." Sorcerer tells the strange voice.

There was a brief pause before the voice came back.

"_You are clear to land…welcome home." _ The voice sounded a little emotional, but because of the static noise it was hard to tell.

The smurf plane starts to lower towards the ground and straight for a waterfall.

"Ah, you do realize that is a waterfall up ahead, don't you?" Toughette calls out to the pilots.

"Of course," Sorcerette says, looking back at her. "Watch this."

The magic smurfette turns back to face forward again. She focuses at the falling water. Her dark eyes gradually become a glowing crystal blue. Sorcerette raises her hands together and pulls them apart.

"Separate…" Her voice seemed to echo as she said her command.

Hefty and Toughette are amazed as they witness the waterfall splitting apart to reveal a tunnel with lights blinking along each side behind it. Sorcerer brings the plane down towards the tunnel of blinking lights. With a bump, the plane touches the surface of the runway. Hefty and Toughette hold onto their seats for dear life, not knowing if this ride is actually going to stop or not. Finally the plane does come to a complete halt. Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf turn off the engine and unfasten their seatbelts. They get up to walk up to Hefty and Toughette, whom both still have their eyes shut tight. Slowly the two strong smurfs open their eyes to see both magic smurfs standing before them.

"We're home now." Sorcerer calmly says with a big smile.

Sorcerette and Sorcerer help Hefty and Toughette unfasten their seatbelts. The magic smurfs help pull them out of their seats and guide them towards the side door of the plane. Sorcerer opens the door and jumps out. He turns to look back to the others before they could jump off the plane.

"You two are so going to love it here. We will have a blast showing you all the new things, and…"

"Sorcerer…" A voice called out to him in a stern tone.

Sorcerer Smurf spins around to see an older smurf with a red hat on. "Elder look! The mission was a success!" He cheers, addressing Hefty and Toughette as they hop off the smurf plane.

Hefty gives the strange elder smurf a perplexed look. There is something familiar about him, but he just can't place a finger on it yet.

"I can see that, but did you have to take so many unnecessary risks?" The Elder spoke. He began pacing as he continues to lecture the young smurf.

"I told you take a ship not a larger plane."

"But Elder a ship would have taken longer to get here." Sorcerer cried in protest.

"Sorcerer, we've waited five hundred years, I told you waiting one more week was not going to kill us, but would you listen? Oh no… Do you have any idea how a smurf would react in unfamiliar surroundings? Well, it sure would seem that you have figured that out by now. Didn't you?"

"Well, I…" Sorcerer didn't get to finish explaining. The Elder once again cut him off.

"I heard on the radio just before you called us over the CB that the pilot and co-pilot picked up an unknown disturbance in the cargo deck of the _very_ plane you took to get here. The humans may not have known what that disturbance was, but **I** instantly had my suspicions…and don't think for one second I don't know you were eating plane food again. I can smell the peanuts and cookies on your breath!" The Elder said, shaking his cane towards Sorcerer.

"Awe, come on…" Sorcerer whined, as he slump his shoulders forward.

"If Papa Smurf were here," the elder smurf continues as he once again starts pacing. "He would just turn over in his smurf with the way you two behave sometimes. And _further_ more…"

Hefty might not understand most of what this elderly smurf is saying, but his last sentence caught his attention clearly. The strong smurf's eyes widened when it suddenly hits him on who this elderly smurf is.

"**_Brainy?_**" He spoke in shock.

The elder smurf in the red cap stopped. He slowly turns his head to meet Hefty's gaze. With a small smile on his face, he replies, "hello Hefty. It's been a while."

"A while?" Hefty is stunned. "No kidding! What happened to you?"

"I got old. What does it look like? Even smurfs age over the course of five hundred years. Well, unless they are trapped in hibernation sleep that is." Brainy sarcastically responds with a smirk. He begins to dust the sleeves on his red jacket and straightens his black rimmed glasses.

"Toughette!" A female voice called out.

The golden blond smurfette looks over to see an elderly smurfette wearing a pink hat and matching long coat. She also is wearing a long light pink dress that reaches down to her pink shoes. Even the rim around her glasses is pink. Toughette raised her brow in confusion. _Who is this smurfette?_ She wonders as the Elder walks up to her.

"Thank Smurfness you have come back to us safely, my sister." The elderly smurfette spoke taking hold of Toughette's hand into hers.

"B-Brainette?" Toughette gasped.

"Smurf-a-roo!" An almost familiar female voice cries out.

Hefty and Toughette turn to see three adult smurfs with grey beards, and one adult smurfette with grey braided pigtails running towards them.

"I can't believe it is really you, Hefty. You have no idea how long we have waited to see the day when you and Toughette would return to us." The adult smurf in the yellow jacket cheers.

"Who…" Hefty said with pure uncertainty.

"Come on Hefty, you do recognize us, don't you?" The other adult smurf with the straw smurf hat and brown jacket snickers.

"I…uh…"

"Tattling toad-monkeys! Come on, Hefty." The adult smurfette cries, flapping her arms up and down.

It was then that Hefty realized who these smurfs are. He lets in a loud gasp, "Smurflings?"

The slouching adult smurf in the red shirt chuckles before saying, "If you'd notice, we aren't exactly smurflings anymore."

"Yes, it would seem that everyone here has grown up over the years." Toughette mutters, looking around at the older versions of the family she once knew.

"You have no idea. Come, let's get you checked up, washed, and fed. You are probably tired too. Jet lag, I'm sure, will hit you hard soon and you will want to get some sleep." Elder Brainette said.

"What is _jet lag_?" Toughette asked.

"Something tells me we already had enough sleep to last us five hundred years." Hefty grumbles as the older smurfs guide him and Toughette to their new home.


	3. The Check Up

**Chapter 3: The Check Up **

"What is this place?" Toughette asks as they enter a strange room with strange boxes hanging up along the wall. They all seem to have bizarre images blinking on the front of them. Along the side of the room there sat a row of four weird looking beds. Beside the beds are unusual looking metal trays with wheels on the bottom of them. On the top of the trays are a bunch of gausses, bandages, and other weird stuff.

"This is our Medial lab." Elder Brainette announces in a proud tone.

"M-m-medical lab? You mean a place where you just might carry needles?" The golden blond smurfette stuttered nervously.

"Toughette please. We need to check you two over and make sure you're doing ok. The trip must have been very stressful. We promise that we won't do anything that will make you uncomfortable, ok." Nat Smurf says trying to sound reassuring.

"No! You are going to stick a needle in me. I can tell!" Toughette cries, attempting to back out of the room.

"Look Toughette, everything we use these days are not as bad as it was back in the days of the Old Village." Slouchy Smurf calmly says.

"I-I-I don't think…" The tough smurfette never felt so unsure about her surroundings. She would feel safer being in Nursette's Medical Lab back home.

"It'll be alright, Toughette. I'm here." Hefty says smoothly into her ear as he places his hands tenderly around her arms. She looks up at him and lets out a content sigh. At least there is one smurf in this room she can truly rely on.

"Take a seat on this bed here, Toughette. Hefty, you can sit on this bed beside her." Snappy Smurf says as he taps on the two mattresses.

The golden blond smurfette and strong smurf cautiously do as suggested. Toughette watch nervously as Elder Brainette takes an object from the wall behind the bed and places a black cone shape thing on it. Brainette then points this odd object towards the tough smurfette's eyes. Within the black cone is a bright light. The cone itself is narrow and pointy. Almost like a needle. Toughette slowly slides down the bed, trying to get away from it.

"Ah, Toughette, this would work a lot better if you could just sit still." Brainette finally says with an annoyed look on her face.

"What _is_ that thing?" She cries in a panic voice.

"This is a scope. It will show me if your eyes might have troubles reacting to light." The smart elder explains.

"They react just fine, trust me." Toughette grumbles at her.

"What are you doing? What are these things?" Hefty asks frantically as Nat Smurf and Snappy Smurf sticks suction pads with wires attached to them on his chest and arms. It really starts getting weird when Nat wraps his right upper arms in a strange material that magically sticks together. The material has a rubber tube connected to it, and the tube is connected to the strange box with moving images on the front.

"These are going to help give us the vital readings of your heart beats, blood pressure, and breathing." Nat explains.

"What?" Hefty's voice cracked a little when saying that. He becomes more stunned when the band around his arm begins to put on pressure against his skin. A few seconds later the pressure is released.

Nat focuses on the strange moving images on the box beside him. Crazy lines seem to bounce up and down really fast. Beeping noises cry out from the box. Nat's brow begins to wrinkle when he sees the high numbers.

"Hmm, your blood pressure seems a little high right now." He says while reaching over to turn off the beeping noise on the box by pushing one of the buttons on it.

"Oh that's just _smurfy_! What does that mean?" Hefty asks with a frustrated tone.

"It means that you should try and relax a little." Nat tells him.

"**_Try and relax?_**" _Is this really happening? _ Hefty thought.

"Do you have **_any_** idea what I just been through?" He begins to shout, "This world is so crazy from the one I remember. How is it that everything smurfed so much? Not to mention finding out that the village no longer exists, and **where _is_ every smurf?** Don't tell me you are the only ones here! Why won't any of you tell us anything? There is only so much a smurf can take, you know. And now you expect me to _try and relax_?"

"He does have a point there." Sassette calmly says.

"Ah, Hefty, maybe you should take a few deep breaths. Your heart rate is getting very high." Nat suggests looking back at the monitor nervously.

"That's it! Get these things off of me!" Hefty demands, tugging at the wires attached from the strange box to the suction cups on his body.

"Hefty stop that!" Elder Brainy commands with a hint of concern.

"Yeah, Hefty. You might hurt something. Worse yet, you might hurt yourself." Snappy adds, trying to hold down the strong smurf.

"Don't _touch_ me." Hefty warns through his teeth.

Snappy removes his hands from him with a sheepish grin.

"Dude chill, ok." Sorcerer says, trying to play referee.

"Hey, get a way from him!" Toughette crows as she leaps out of her bed. She rushes over and stands in between the adult smurfs and Hefty.

"Oh, what have they done to you?" The tough smurfette asked him softly.

"I don't know…" Hefty said in a whiny tone.

Carefully Toughette tugs at one of the wires until the little suction cup pops off Hefty's chest.

"Ow…" The strong smurf winced, not realizing that tiny thing could have such a mean little sting to it.

Suddenly another strange loud beeping noise comes from the peculiar box. One of the bouncing lines becomes a flat line going across the screen. The noise made everyone in the room a little uneasy. Nat quickly reached over and turned it off, but still left the image on. Toughette pulls the rest of the suction cups off of Hefty. Hefty feels relieved that he doesn't have to suffer with those things on anymore.

"Hefty, Toughette we are so sorry. We are just so excited in having you back that we keep forgetting that you are not use to all of this new technology." Slouchy Smurf slinks up to them in a sheepish manner.

"Tech-nol-gy?" Toughette said, trying to imitate the strange new word. She got so caught up in what Slouch said that she didn't get a chance to take off the magical material that is still wrapped around Hefty's arm.

"Yes. Everything has changed so much over the past five hundred years, especially the past hundred years. Even Brainette and I have troubles keeping up with it all." Elder Brainy explains in a bashful chuckle.

Toughette looks up at Hefty, and he looks down at her. Both are not too sure how to respond to any of this.

"You wouldn't believe some of the interesting things we discovered over the centuries. For example, did you know that each smurf and smurfette have different blood types?" Elder Brainette said with an almost giddy tone.

"Oh really? And how would you go about to find such a fascinating discovery?" Toughette replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes skyward.

"Well, we start by extracting a sample with this." Not even thinking, Elder Brainette picks up a small butterfly needle with a small plastic tube attached to it.

Seeing the sharp pointed object shocked Toughette so much that she actually starts to pass out. She hits the floor with a hard thud, and everyone stand over her with stunned expressions on their faces.

"Toughette?" Elder Brainette says as she bends down to examine her.

"**TOUGHETTE!**" Hefty cries.

He leaps off the bed and realizes that the material wrapped around his arm still has a hold on him. With one strong thrust of his whole body, he frees himself from his prison by ripping the mysterious band off his arm and throwing it on the floor with his left hand. At the same time, Hefty has causes the bizarre box to fly off its stand and it crash loudly on the floor. The sudden movement of Hefty shocked the other smurfs – making them all jump.

"**GET AWAY FROM HER!**" He spat angrily at Elder Brainette, whom only wishes to check on her fallen sister. Hefty collapses down to his knees and hovers protectively over his girlfriend, slapping Brainette's hand away from her. He gives the other smurfs a mean glare before bringing his attention down to Toughette.

"Toughette…?" Hefty quietly whispers as he tenderly strokes her long golden hair.

Slowly Toughette blinks her eyes open and finally focuses them on Hefty.

"Hefty…?" She slowly answers him.

"Oh, Hefty. I had the weirdest dream. First there were these strange smurfs dressed in odd looking clothes. Then we were trapped inside a large metal beast that made horrible noises and shook us in a violent rage. After we made it home, but it wasn't our home. Some of the smurfs we know looked different, and…"

"Uh, Toughette…" Hefty interrupted.

"What?"

"It wasn't a dream." He tells her softly.

Toughette scanned the room with her eyes. She lets out a sigh as she begins to remember the event of her day since waking up in the cave.

"Maybe we should postpone giving Hefty and Toughette their physical until they are more use to their new surroundings." Brainy suggests. The other smurfs nodded in agreement.

Elder Brainette kneels down beside the two strong smurfs.

"Again, we are sorry about all of this. You have to believe us that we mean you no harm. If it is possible, may we start over?" She calmly says to them. Brainette holds out her hand for them to understand she is waiting for them to take it as a sign of peace.

Hefty and Toughette look at each other. Toughette slowly nods to him before she reaches for Brainette's hand. She lets her elderly sister pull her up off the floor with Hefty's help.

"There, is that better? How are you feeling now?" Brainette asks.

"Like I could throw up." Toughette answers, holding her upset tummy with one hand.

"Oh, please don't do that. We just had this floor moped this morning." Sassette jokingly said.

"Well, you better get something then, because I'm not joking here." Toughette explains with a serious look on her face.

Sorcerette reacts quickly by using her magic to slide a small garbage pail towards the golden blond smurfette.

The pail made it to Toughette seconds before she leaned forward – letting out the uneasy feeling in her stomach.

"Is she going to be alright?" Hefty asks in a worried tone.

"It's probably a side effect from your traveling experience on the huge plane, and eating those awful peanuts. I bet they were the salted kind too." Elder Brainy said, glaring at Sorcerer and Sorcerette. The two young magic smurfs sheepishly grin with the weight of guilt hanging on their shoulders.

Brainy turns back to Hefty with a softer expression. "How do you feel?"

"Irritated, worried, confused, where would you like me to begin, Brainy?" Hefty snapped back. He crosses his arms tightly over his chest and turns his gaze away from his smart brother; much like Grouchy Smurf might do if he were him.

"You'll be fine. Just give your memory time to come back." Brainy said.

He attempts to put a reassuring hand on Hefty's shoulder, but is surprised when the strong smurf quickly jerks away. That's when Brainy notices that Hefty is shivering. _Is it because he's cold_, he wondered. That's when it hit him. Hefty is not cold, he's scared. Brainy feels like such an idiot in not figuring that out sooner. He knew that Hefty might have some difficulties at first in dealing with his new surroundings, but being scared by them? Brainy lets out a small sigh as he tries to think of a way to possibly help his long lost brother.

"Is that better now, Toughette?" Sassette asks as the golden blond smurfette as she lifts up her pounding head up from the bucket.

"I-I'm not sure yet." Toughette slowly shook her head.

"Perhaps all you need is a chance to get some real food in you Toughette. Why don't we take you to our living room? There you can sit down comfortably, while we get something from our kitchen. Does that sound ok with you?" Elder Brainette suggested.

"Sure." Toughette responds softly. Before Elder Brainette and Sassette could reach out to her, she quickly leans over to Hefty's chest and allows him to wrap his arms around her.

"Uh, why don't you just follow us then?" Snappy says before leading the scared smurfs out of the Medical lab.

The strong smurfs look around as they walk through the weirdest tunnel they have ever been in. It almost reminds them of the castles of their royal human friends back home, but instead of torches hanging from the walls there is fire in the ceiling that keeps the room lit. Things just keep getting weirder and weirder.

It's not until they entered another room that Hefty and Toughette had to admire the beauty.

All around are smooth walls, except one. On the far right wall is rocky with water trickling down it, creating a soft nurturing noise. It is possible this wall is part of the original cave that they are in, and the water is part of the waterfall the smurf plane went through. Surrounding the rocky wall is a beautiful garden of flowers and other green vegetation. Above the room is an opening that is blocked by glass. Most likely the glass is to keep any stormy weather from flooding the room. The glassy roof also creates a natural light source to brighten up the room during the day. At the far end of the room are shelves that hold peculiar looking boxes with knobs and buttons on them. Also on these shelves are books and weird looking cases with pictures on them. Beside the shelves are long boxes that have wires which connect to the boxes on the shelves.

Beautiful paintings of nature scenes hang along the wall beside the shelves as well as interesting carvings that resemble animals in some form. Some carvings are painted in red and black, some even have turquoise and silver. There is even a white round shaped craft with a web design in the middle. Beautiful blue and white feathers and beads are dangling from the circle giving it a mystical complete look.

In the center of the room sits a colorful throw rug that just brings more comfort into the space. Four soft looking chairs and one that almost looks like a bed spread in a half circle position on the rug with a long short table in front of them. Across the chairs is another large, but thinner box. It kind of reminds Hefty and Toughette of the one in the Medical lab only five times its size and flatter. This box almost takes up three quarters of the space of the entire wall.

On the left is an open door that leads into another strange room, but inside the room smells like something could be cooking in it. Hefty and Toughette look at each other with uncertainty. _Is all of this for real? Are we really here? What type of place is this?_ These are the questions that run through their minds. How they both wish this all was a horrible nightmare and soon they could wake up.

"Ok, this is called a living room." Sorcerer cheers, introducing the room they've just entered.

"This is where we have our quiet time. This long cushion layered thing here is called a couch. We sit on it, sometimes nap on it." He continues, hopping on the couch and bounces slightly on the soft cushions.

"And the best part in this room is the TV." The young magic smurf adds picking up a remote control from the short long table.

"Sorcerer WAIT!" Elder Brainy tries to warn, but it is too late. Sorcerer clicks the button to turn on the TV.

Hefty and Toughette are instantly looks towards the big thin box sitting at the end of the room. A creepy image appears suddenly. Fire surrounds a group of humanoid creatures making a horrible noise by screeching and banging on objects. One of the demons jump forward, places a long black object in front of his face and begins to wail into it, exposing his teeth and tongue with a shinny metal thing pierced in it.

With a scream, both Hefty and Toughette bolt right back out the same way they just entered.

"Oops, wrong channel." Sorcerer chuckles in embarrassment. "Hey, where did they go?" He says in surprise, noticing that Hefty and Toughette left the room.

"D'oh, that's the second time they've run off on us." Sorcerette says, slapping her hand on her forehead.

"Whoa… I forgot how fast Hefty and Toughette could run." Snappy says in awe. He rushes up to the door to find out which way they've gone – but the strong smurfs had already disappeared around the corner down the hall.

"Well, that's just **Smurfy!**" Brainy shouts in anger. He quickly turns and points to Sorcerer. "Turn that thing off! We have to find them before they get themselves into trouble!"

"Easy Casanova." Brainette purrs, holding up a tracking gizmo that is already picking up a signal of its target. "Finding them won't be as difficult as you may think. I managed to place a tracer on Toughette when she passed out in the Med Lab."

Elder Brainy smiles at his smart mate. "Always thinking ahead, aren't you?"

"Of course. Someone has to around here." She tells him with a smirk. Without saying another word, Elder Brainette leads the other smurfs out to find Hefty and Toughette.


	4. How it Began

**Chapter 4: How it Began**

Toughette and Hefty Smurf run around the corner and down another tunnel. To them all the tunnels look much like the other they've ran through. The only goal now for these strong smurfs is to get out and away from the strange elderly smurfs who claim to be their friends from the Smurf Village. How will they ever get home? Is there even a home to get back too?

Finally they stopped to catch a breath. Hefty and Toughette also use this opportunity to get their barring straight. Using their eyes they try to find a possible tunnel that will lead them outside.

"What kind of smurfs keep demons trapped inside an odd looking box?" Toughette panted, thinking back to the strange room they had escaped from.

"Who cares? Let's just find an exit and get out of this crazy place!" Hefty replied, slightly out of breath.

Toughette slightly buckles over with a groan, clinching her stomach. Hefty can tell she still isn't feeling that well.

"What is it, Toughette? You are not going to be sick again, are you?" The strong smurf asks, placing a hand on her back.

"I don't think so. My stomach just hurts that's all. What I wouldn't give for one of Mama Smurf's medicines right now."

"Yeah, me too." Hefty nods, holding his stomach as well.

"You don't look all too well either. Are you going to be ok?" Toughette asks him.

"I'll hold till we can find a way to get out of here." He says, taking her hand and leading her down the hall once more.

The strong smurfs continue to run, but in a slower pace now. Toughette trots a few steps behind Hefty. Normally she would be at a steady stride along side him. She suddenly stops once more when a tiny noise catches her attention. Toughette paused as she tries to tame her breathing so she can see if she could hear it again, but nothing happened. The tough smurfette narrow her eyes down another dark tunnel, and yet, could not see anything that may have made that noise either.

"Hefty?" She finally turns back to call out to her mate.

"What?" He stops to look back at her.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"There was a noise. It came from down that tunnel over there." Just then the same sound is heard. "There it is again!"

"I-I-I didn't hear anything." Hefty said, as he is distracted in looking down a different tunnel for a way out. "What did it sound like?"

"It sounded a bit like someone or something…_giggling_."

"This is just another reason for us to get the smurf out of here, Toughette, too many weird things happening." He again takes Toughette's hand again and they both run around the corner, only to meet a dead end.

"Great! I think I saw a light down the other tunnel. We could back track and go there." Toughette suggested.

"Toughette, wait." Hefty said, grabbing hold of her arm.

"What?"

"Look." He whispers hoarsely, guiding her eyes up with his blue finger to a sign above the door at the end of the tunnel.

Toughette looks up and reads what it says.

"_Smurf History Museum_?" She looks back to Hefty, and he turns to her.

"You don't suppose we might find some answers in there, do you?" The golden blond smurfette asks.

"Come on…" Hefty takes Toughette's hand once more and leads her up to the door.

They are once again surprised with how this world works as the door suddenly opens sideways. It just moved on its own without Hefty even getting a chance to touch it. They really became startled when the door also closed on its own as soon as Hefty and Toughette entered the room. They wondered if the room itself is alive and wanted to trap them inside. The strong smurfs waited for a moment to see what else might happen, but nothing did. Slowly Hefty and Toughette start to look up and around their surroundings.

The room itself is huge. It has stairs just ahead that lead to different levels that spiral upward to a glass ceiling. The Glass, like the other room, gives a natural light source during the day, but that isn't what caught Hefty and Toughette's sight. All around the room and up along the other levels that spiral upward have displays of ancient artifacts from the Smurf Village. Laid out along one of the walls of the first level are semi faded paintings boxed in glass that the two smurfs recognized to be Painter's works. In front of the paintings, protected in glass cases, are smurf sculptures and wicker baskets that only the hand of Craftette could create.

As Hefty and Toughette begin to walk around the museum they see more artifacts that once were owned by their friends, including some of Handy's favorite tools he used to a few of his smaller inventions from the sting-a-ling right down to his Smurf Drill (the very one that needed real bees in order for it to work). They even walked by Clockwork Smurf that is obviously not operational anymore due to the fact his gears are rusted out and not being able to receive the care that Handy Smurf would have given it. Dreamy's captain's hat is on display too. Beside it is the wooden sculpture of a smurfette mermaid that once sat on the bow of the S.S. Smurf. Even Cowgirl's favorite lasso is also incased in protective glass beside Farmer Smurfs favorite Hoe.

Toughette walks past some more items in glass. She gasps knowing that they all once belonged to her sisters. From Mama Smurf's herbs and spell books, to Ballette's dancing shoes, to even a few of Valvette's favorite dresses that she and Sewette designed. All were placed in protective glass. Toughette stops at a flyer that is already laid out, ready to read. On the top of the flyer it says _'Tattlerette's Daily Report'_. Toughette narrows her eyes through the glass in order to read some of the faded words. Her eyes start watering as she covers her mouth with her hand. Something about this flyer suddenly has her realizing on what had happened to the Smurf Village.

Hefty walks with his jaw hung down with all the old things from his village. From Grandpa's walking stick, to a few of Papa Smurf's best spell books and memoirs, right down to Poet's best poems in display glass. He grazes his hand over a glass case of Clumsy's favorite rocks. It is at this moment that he too begins to remember.

"H-Hefty." Toughette whispered softly.

"Yeah Toughette?" He answers, barely even able to get the words out.

"I think I remember what happened to us…"

"Me too…"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

_ Flashback _

**1503 – DEEP IN THE FORESTS OF EUROPE**

Toughette and Hefty Smurf sit beside a river bed and dried off Babette and Baby Smurf. They had just finished giving the babies a bath in the river.

"There, that outta do it. You're all clean now, Sweet Pea." Toughette coos to Baby Smurf. Baby Smurf responds by giggling in baby babble.

"Yeah, bet it feels good to get all washed up after a hard morning of playing in the mud." Hefty says softly as he tickles Babette under her chin with his nose.

"Speaking of cleaned up, I wonder if Brainette, Brainy, and the smurflings managed to get the camp site packed so we can get home." Toughette wondered.

"Hmm, good question. Let's go find out." The strong smurf says as he gets up with Babette in his arms.

About a quarter mile away from the river bank the other smurfs and smurflings are just picking up the rest of their equipment and camping gear. Puppy sits happily as he watched his beloved family of smurfs pack up their things. He himself has a special strap around his body so the wagon sitting beside him could be attached with all the heavy equipment on it.

"Smurf-a-roo, these bags can get really heavy." Snappy Smurfling whined as he dragged a duffle bag of camping gear.

"Tell me about it." Nat Smurfling huffed as he too struggled with Sassette in rolling up the last sleeping bag.

"It sure would be nice to have some grown up assistance here, though." Sassette grumbled as she shot a glare up at Brainy.

"Yah." Slouchy Smurfling added, throwing a finished packed bag over his shoulder.

"Careful with that bag Slouchy. I have some very important rock samples that I want to analyze with Mama Smurf when we get back home." Brainette tells the young smurfling.

"Hurry it up, Smurflings; Papa Smurf left _me_ in charge to make sure our camping trip is on schedule." Brainy Smurf ordered.

"Who left _whom_ in charge?" Brainette said with a raised eyebrow to Brainy.

"Oh," he chuckled sheepishly, "Why Papa Smurf **_and_** Mama Smurf left **_us_** in charge, of course."

"Of course," Brainette nodded approvingly. She went down to her note pad and checked off another item that needed to be complete in the preparations to leave the camp site.

"Here's the last bag!" Snappy cheered tossing a duffle bag full of pots and pans in front of Brainy and Brainette's feet.

"Excellent. Good job, smurflings." Brainy praised.

"Haven't you smurfs got everything packed yet?" Hefty called out from the edge of the field.

"As you can see we have. We've just been waiting for you two so we can get these bags lifted into the wagon." Brainette calmly stated.

"Oh, I see. You two wait for the brawn to come and do the work that the brains could not." Toughette teased. She and Hefty look at each other with a smirk before turning back to Brainette and Brainy.

"Fine," They both sighed in unison.

"Here make yourselves useful, and hold the babies while we pack the wagon." Hefty tells the smart smurfs.

After handing the babies to Brainy and Brainette, Hefty and Toughette go straight to work lifting up the heavy bags. Hefty takes one and tosses it over his shoulder. He also grabs another one and starts dragging it along as he heads for the wagon. Toughette picks up one heavy bag and carries it over her head with both hands and walks behind Hefty.

Brainette and Brainy Smurf watch the stronger smurfs. They look down at the babies in their arms before look at each other with a smile.

"I have to admit, regardless of Toughette's sarcastic wit this has been a fun and educational camping trip." Brainette said.

"True. I wonder if the Village has missed us during the two and a half weeks we were away." Brainy asks.

"Us maybe, but you? That's another story…" Snappy Smurfling chuckled at Brainy. The other smurflings joined in on the joke with a good laugh.

"Ha, ha! Very funny." Brainy grumbled.

"Charming." Brainette smirked at the young mischief smurflings.

"Ok we got a day's hike back to the Village so let's get smurfing, smurfs." Hefty calls out to everyone.

Both he and Toughette make sure the wagon to Puppy's special collar is fully secure. After Brainette and Brainy Smurf help put the babies in their baby slings and strap them on the strong smurf's backs. Brainy and Brainette themselves as well as the smurflings put on their backpacks before everyone heads out of the valley and towards the direction of their home.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The ten traveling smurfs are now getting tired after their long hike; even Puppy is feeling the strain after hulling heavy cargo for many miles. Needless to say they are all very glad to be coming home.

Without warning both Babette and Baby Smurf begin to cry.

"Awe, come on you guys. That is the third time you two started crying since we left the camp site." Toughette whined looking over her shoulder to Baby Smurf strapped on her back.

"Yeah little squeakers. What's the matter?" Hefty added with a concern look on his face as he too turns to Babette on his back.

"Hmm, how peculiar," Brainette ponders out loud. "We've changed them, fed them, and yet they are still showing signs of discomfort."

"You don't suppose it could be they are starving for some stimulating intellect to help build their fast growing minds?" Brainy suggested. Everyone, including Brainette, turns to give him a funny look as if to say 'are you joking'.

"They could be just tired from the long journey in getting home?" Nat Smurfling suggested. Brainette nods, agreeing with that possibility.

"Or perhaps they are just upset that they had nothing else to look at during the entire trip home other then Brainy." Snappy Smurfling again joked, jerking his thumb up at Brainy. Once again every one starts laughing over Snappy's comment.

"That's it I'm going to go tell Papa Smurf on you. Then you'll be sorry." Brainy huffed. He starts walking faster, passing Hefty and Toughette and straight towards the Village.

"Oh brother, Brainy. You take things way too personal sometimes." Hefty says, rolling his eyes skyward.

"Oh, just you wait. One day I will be running things, and the way of the Smurfs will be different. None of this making fun of Brainy Smurf, oh no… And further more…" Brainy stops instantly due to the fact that he had bumped into something and falls on his back.

Seeing Brainy fall made everyone laugh at him more. Brainette however, seemed more interested in what Brainy had bumped into more then him falling on his back.

"Walk much, Brainy?" Toughette laughed.

"Not funny, Toughette." Brainy scowled. He begins to rub his head, "I bumped into something."

"Invisible goose-bumps, I don't see anything." Sassette scratched her head.

"That seems to be the point," Brainette hummed as she inspected the force that knocked Brainy back. She grazes her hand over the strange energy that is obviously as strong as a wall. "I would say this invisible shield has been put up by magic. But why is it blocking entry to our Village?"

"You don't suppose if we walk around it that we might be able to find away to pass this thing, do you?" Toughette asked.

"Maybe. There is only one way to find out." The smart smurfette said before following the invisible wall around the village.

Hefty decides to do the smurfy thing and help Brainy back up to his feet before following the smurfettes.

"Awe, more walking?" Slouchy Smurfling whined before trailing behind of the other smurfs.

Almost twenty five minutes have passed, and the smurfs have no luck in finding an opening, nor are they able to see any of their fellow smurfs and smurfettes anywhere. Now the traveling smurfs are beginning to worry.

"Where _is_ every smurf?" Brainy whined.

"That's a good question. I haven't seen anyone since we have started going around this thing." Hefty responds with a baffled look on his face.

"Do you think an evil sorcerer or something trapped the smurfs inside?" Sassette asked.

"If I were to estimate on the origin this shield, Sassette, I would say that it was created from the inside. Being that said it could seem that the smurfs and smurfettes were trying to keep something out." Brainette said in a mono-tone voice.

"But does that have to include us? W-W-What if this thing that was attacking the Village is still here? We could all be in danger!" Brainy cried in a panicky tone.

The other smurfs all start to look around at their surroundings in a wary way.

"Brainy…?" A weak, but familiar voice calls out from inside the invisible shield.

"C-Clumsy?" Brainy said, once he notices his best friend crawling out from behind a large rock.

"I thought I heard your voice, Brainy." Clumsy smiled. His face looks pale and sunk in.

"Clumsy, what happened? Where is every smurf?" Hefty called out to him.

Clumsy's smile faded into a frown. "They all got very sick. I'm not doing to well myself. But I sure did miss all of you." He said, trying to bring himself to smile again, but found he is too weak to make the smile last.

"Clumsy. How is it that everyone got so sick?" Brainette asked, kneeling down at his level.

"It is a viral plague, Brainette." A female voice calls out, also in a weak tone.

Everyone looked up to see Nursette and Handy Smurf walk up to the same rock that Clumsy is leaning against. Their movements are slow. Both of them are pale looking with their faces sunken in, much like how Clumsy looks. Each of them barely has enough strength to even make the short journey from the tree closest to the Village to the rock beside the energy shield. Once they reach the rock both Handy and Nursette lean against it for support.

"Nursette? Handy? Boy, you two don't look so good." Toughette says seriously.

"Yeah. What kind of virus could do this to you, not to mention the entire Village?" Hefty added.

"And what is with this invisible energy shield? Why can't we come in and talk to Papa Smurf and Mama Smurf?" Brainy asked.

"Papa Smurf and Mama Smurf created this energy field so that no one could come in or get out of the Village." Nursette said weakly.

"Why?" Toughette nearly shouted. Her voice is already sounding emotional.

"Because this virus is already killing us, and Mama Smurf and Papa Smurf didn't want any of you to become infected as well." Handy explains.

"How did this happen?" Nat Smurfling asked. He and the other smurflings are on the verge of crying along with the two babies.

"It started shortly after you guys left to go camping and study rock minerals. Tracker Smurf was out on one of his nature hikes when he found Wild Smurf. Apparently Gargamel had sprayed Wild with something and just left him. After when Tracker brought Wild Smurf back to the Village he himself started becoming sick." Handy Smurf begins with watery eyes and a shaky voice.

"While Mama Smurf and Papa Smurf struggled to find a cure the rest of the Village started getting sick too. Whatever was in the stuff that Gargamel sprayed on Wild it had spread fast, and with no mercy. Mama Smurf, Papa Smurf and I all agreed that it was a Plague, but what kind we didn't know. Within only a few days the worst began to happen." Nursette stopped as tears started falling down her face.

"What?" Brainette asked with petrified eyes.

"Everyone was starting to s-s-smurf." Handy said with tears running down his face, barely even able to say the words.

The smurfs on the other side of the shield took a step back in shock.

"No! You're lying!" Snappy cried out in disbelief. Handy's word stabbed him in the heart like a knife.

"I wish I was, Snappy." Handy sobbed.

Brainy is so stunned that he can't seem to feel his legs anymore. He collapses in the very spot where he stood, right in front of Clumsy, whom is also crying out of sadness and fear.

"W-What about Papa Smurf and Mama Smurf?" He called out after re-finding his voice.

"As soon as they realized they could not find a cure, or had enough strength to go to Gargamel's and get one from there, Mama Smurf and Papa Smurf decided the only other option was to create this magical shield. They did so in order to protect all of you and the other species of the forest. It is scary how fast thing had spread to every smurf and smurfette they worried not only did they worry for you smurfs safety, but they worried that it could spread to our friends in the forest too?" Nursette says in an emotional and very tired tone.

"Where are Mama Smurf and Papa Smurf now? Is there anyway for us to see them?" Brainette asks.

Nursette, Handy, and Clumsy all shake their heads with a look of sorrow.

"Shortly after they had cast this spell they became very weak. The virus was able to take over their system faster." Nursette explains further, but stops.

"Y-Y-You mean, they're…" Brainy chocked and couldn't finish his sentence.

Handy slowly turns to Brainy till he is looking right into his eyes. "…Gone…" He finishes for Brainy, before lowering his eyes once more in grief.

"No. This isn't happening." Hefty growled in anger and grief. His emotions are so over whelmed that he is beyond anything he has ever felt before. He stops to think for a moment then turns to Handy and Nursette.

"You said that Gargamel spayed Wild with something, right?" The strong smurf said in a forceful tone.

"That's right." Nursette said, whipping a tear from her eye.

"Then it is to Gargamel's we will go!" Toughette crowed, slamming her fist into her hand. "We will force him to hand us the cure. We may be too late for most of the smurfs and smurfettes, but at least we can try to save you and any others that may still be alive."

Both Toughette and Hefty slid the whimpering babies off their backs. They give them to the smurflings to hold.

"You four stay here with the babies." Toughette tells them.

"No way! We want to come too!" Snappy cried out in protest.

"Look we need you to stay here and not only look after the babies, but to stay with Handy, Nursette, and Clumsy." Hefty explains the smurflings.

"Brainy, Brainette come on. We don't have a moment to waist!" He shouts back to the others.

"Hefty and Toughette are right, Brainy." Brainette says, taking hold of Brainy's arm. "If there is a possibility that Gargamel has a cure, we can use it and save our friends."

Brainy looks up at the smart smurfette with a lost expression on his face, all feeling left his body. The news about Papa Smurf was too much for him to handle.

"It's ok, Brainy. I'll be here beside my favourite rock till you get back." Clumsy said softly, sensing that his best friend is having troubles with his emotions.

"C-Clumsy?" Brainy said in an almost whisper. He turns to his dying friend.

"Do you know why I chose this to be my favourites rock, Brainy?" Clumsy again said trying to keep a smile on his face.

Slowly Brainy shook his head, "no Clumsy, I don't know why that is your favourites rock."

"Because this is the rock you stand on to give your speeches." As Clumsy says this, his eyes begin to look heavy.

Seeing Clumsy struggle to stay awake brought Brainy back to reality. He jumps up from the ground and readies himself to run off.

"Hang in there Clumsy. We will go get the cure."

"I'll be here, Brainy."

What Brainy and the others didn't see as they ran in the direction to Gargamel's is that Clumsy has already lost the battle to the virus. The smurflings watch nervously as his head slumps forward and the rest of his body becomes limp and lifeless.

"I-Is Clumsy sleeping?" Sassette finally asked.

Handy and Nursette peer over to where Clumsy is sitting. Handy instantly starts crying, knowing all too well that he will not be waking up from this sleep.

"Yes, little Sassette, Clumsy is sleeping." Nursette answers, placing her tired arms around Handy Smurf.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The smurfs ran all the way over to Gargamel's castle without even stopping to catch a breath. They did stop, however, to scan the outside for any activity. All seems quiet around Gargamel's home.

"I don't see Azrael anywhere." Toughette panted.

"There's a good chance that he and Gargamel are not home right now." Hefty said, also a bit out of breath.

"Good then that means we can get in there, grab the cure, and get back to the Village in order to save the others without having to deal with that evil wizard." Brainy points out after catching his breath.

"Agreed." Brainette nodded.

Not wasting another minute, the four smurfs run up to the window closest to the ground. They climb up and enter the empty dingy home.

"Let's spread out and find a book that would contain a spell that created the plague." Brainette commands.

Everyone nods in agreement and rush off in four different directions.

Hefty runs up to Gargamel's book shelf. He looks up at all the books and how high they are. Shaking his head, he knows there is no time to actually climb up that shelf to find the book. With that in mind, Hefty starts to push against the shelf, causing it to rock back and forth making most of the books to fall. Some of the books nearly lands on top of Brainy.

"Would you be careful, Hefty?" Brainy shouts at him.

"We don't have time to be careful, Brainy; we need to find that cure!" Hefty yells back at him.

Brainette climbed her way up Gargamel's table and started thumbing through a book that is already open on top. She had to pause for a bit, however, when she notices that the book is very much new and in better condition then the other books that were on the shelf. Brainette lifts the cover to read the title of the book. It read: **Guland's Book of Diseases and Plagues.**

'_Guland? That is a name of a demon.'_ She thought to herself before skimming the pages of the book.

Toughette opens up one of the books that fell from the book shelf Hefty shook and begins to skim the pages in hopes to find something. Hefty and Brainy do the same.

Brainette continues to flip through the pages of Guland's book until one page in particular catches her attention.

"I found it!" She shouts.

"The cure?" Brainy asks hopefully.

"The spell that created the viral plague. Hopefully it will also contain a spell that may cure it." The smart smurfette says.

"Well, what does it say?" Hefty asks impatiently.

"It is called 'The Blucroditius Disease' in other terms it is known as the 'Blue Plague'. It can affect any creature, even magical creatures with catastrophic consequences. Once one of any particular species is infected it can spread to any other of its kind just by exchange of touch, or even breathe. Almost instantly that anyone is infected by this disease will suffer aches around the body, fatigue, slight disorientation, muscles deteriorate which can causes the victim to become too weak to move, sweating, and lose of fluid... Well that explains the pale and sunken in look on the smurfs faces… The infected victim will also experience rapid deteriorate of their inner organs as well. In a matter of days to even weeks all will result in death and extinction of the entire species." Brainette says as she reads out what the disease is.

"Does it say anything about a cure?" Toughette calls up to her.

Brainette thumbed down the page to skim over the rest of the spell. Her face suddenly grows tense. She starts to flip the pages over to see if the spell continues further then flips back to the first page she was reading.

"No! This isn't right!" She shook her head in disbelief. Again she looks over the page that described the disease.

"Brainette? What is it?" Hefty asked cautiously. Toughette runs up to the table and climbs up one of the legs. She gets to the table surface and stands in front of her sister.

"There is no cure…" The smart smurfette is so stunned by these words that she finds even saying them is hard.

"There is no cure…" She says again in an even less audible voice, looking up from the book and to the other smurfs.

Brainy, once again, instantly goes numb as Brainette uttered those words. _'No,'_ he thought to himself, _'this isn't happening. This should never happen to Smurfs. What did the Smurfs do to deserve this kind of fate? What is going to happen to us now? Without Papa Smurf, or even Mama Smurf, to guide us we are doomed.'_

"I-I don't believe you." Toughette said, shaking her head. "You're **lying**! Read it again! There **has** to be a cure!"

"I did already! Five times! And I'm telling you there **_is_** no cure!" Brainette shouted back in defiance. She stops to catch her breathe. Again the smart smurfette shakes her head, thinking this is all nothing more then a bad dream.

"I hate to say this smurfs. But Gargamel has _won_. Even if there was a cure it is already too late for every smurf. Most are already smurfed, and the others we just saw before coming here are not far in joining them. We are what's left of the Smurfs and Smurfettes. Us four, and the smurflings." As hard as that was to say, Brainette knew it had to be said in order to get this reality across to the others.

Hefty is so overwhelmed with emotion that he is unable to think straight. His body trembled with grief and anger. Gradually his eyes turned from shocked, to sad, to grief, right to shear anger. Hatred filled up inside, worse from when he became infected with the Yellow Hate Disease.

"Brainy…" Hefty finally said after a stunned silence. His voice sounded calm and yet cold.

Slowly Brainy broke out of his thought to look up at his strong friend.

"What Hefty?"

"Get the smurfettes and get out of here." Hefty's eyes grew dark as all feeling left him.

"W-W-What are you going to d-do?" Brainy never thought he would be afraid for Hefty before. He was not acting like himself at this moment.

"Just do as I say, Brainy!" The strong smurf growled fiercely.

"Hefty… Listen, what ever you are planning please don't do it. It's **_not_** worth it."

"Like **_smurf_** it isn't! Now take the smurfettes and get out of here!" Hefty's thunderous voice seemed to echo through Brainy's body, causing him to jump back a few steps.

Both Toughette and Brainette jump off the table, but instead of running up to Brainy, Toughette runs up to Hefty.

"Look Hefty, what ever you are planning on doing I'm going to help." She tells him directly into his face.

"No Toughette, this is something I have to do on my own." He says, trying to push her away. But as usual Toughette is too stubborn to follow his wishes.

"Not a chance. I lost most of my sisters because of Gargamel and his evil spell as much as you lost most of your brothers. I am helping you!" She says forcefully, almost pushing him back.

"Alright." Hefty nodded. He again looks up towards Brainy and Brainette. "You two get out, **_now!_**"

"B-B-B-But…" Brainy stuttered.

"You heard him! Get OUT!" Toughette demanded.

At first Brainette and Brainy Smurf are reluctant to leave, but quickly realized that their strong friends are at the point of non-reasoning. The two smart smurfs back away slowly towards the very window they used to get in. Brainy and Brainette take one more look back at Hefty and Toughette before jumping out.

Hefty and Toughette watch as the smart smurfs leave. As soon as they are officially out of sight, the two strong smurfs look back at each other. Toughette watches as Hefty turns away to knock over a tube shaped container. Long stem matches that are used to light up the fireplace scatter out from the container and all over the floor. Hefty picks up a few of the matches before heading to a shelf that carried glass beakers. The beakers are what Gargamel uses for his spells. One by one, Hefty tosses the beakers off the shelf. He watches each one fall and shatter as they hit the stone floor. Some beakers had chemicals and other ingredients used for making spells. They all shatter, making the floor messy with broken glass and fluid.

Catching on to what Hefty is doing, Toughette grabs a few of the long stem matches before running up the stairs to Gargamel's bedroom. Once she is at the top of the stairs, Toughette begins to push down his bedside table, and a wooden chair the evil wizard had sitting beside it. Toughette went up to a door at the end of the room. It is already partially opened so all Toughette has to do is push at it slightly. Once fully opened, Toughette sees all of Gargamel's spare clothes, all looking much like the same outfit he always wears. With a cold stare, Toughette lights up one of the matches up against the stone wall.

"This is for all the smurf and smurfette lives you've destroyed." She said in a hatred filled growl.

Bringing the flame up to Gargamel's wardrobe, she watches as every single black gown quickly burns into nothing. Toughette turns to start lighting the chair, bedside table, and even the bed itself. She stops when she sees Azrael's cat bed.

"This goes for you too, Azrael." Toughette says hotly as she lowers the lit match on the straw mattress.

She continues to watch as the flames quickly reach the ceiling. The straw roof doesn't even stand a chance against the raging fire. The tough smurfette starts heading back downstairs, setting each wooden step on fire as she goes down.

She gets to the bottom step to notice that Hefty has already set the shelves, and all of Gargamel's books on fire. Toughette throws down the old lit match and lights up the other long stem match in her other hand. She uses it to set the long table in the middle of the room up in flames. As soon as the entire table is covered in flames, Toughette then runs up to Hefty. Hefty turns to Toughette. For a few moments they don't say anything, they just look into each other's eyes with no emotion. Both are breathing heavily. The roar of the flames become louder and dangerously closer to the two strong smurfs. As if they are able to read each other's minds, Hefty and Toughette toss their lit matches on top of the broken glass that was once the beakers Hefty knocked over. The chemicals and other ingredients that were in the beakers instantly catch on fire, almost acting like gasoline. It isn't long before the two strong smurfs realize that it is now far too hot being around the flames. Hefty takes Toughette's hand and they leave the house together through the same window Brainy and Brainette used.

Brainy and Brainette watch frozen in shock as their enemy's home goes up in flames. They are relieved to see their friends jump out of the window, but yet are very concern with the look of uncaring written on their faces. The two strong smurfs didn't even flinch or turn to watch Gargamel's castle suddenly explode. The walls crumble down and the roof to collapse in on itself until there is nothing but a smouldering mess. Hefty and Toughette just kept walking up to Brainy and Brainette with no emotion.

"By doing this to Gargamel's house, does it help you two feel better?" Brainy shouts sarcastically as tears run down his blue cheeks.

Finally a little emotion comes back into Hefty's eyes. They begin to get all watery as he shakes his head. "No." He replies honestly.

Toughette, suddenly overwhelmed with grief, covers her face with her hands as she begins to cry uncontrollably. Brainette wraps her arms around Toughette to comfort her. The smart smurfette is as upset as the others about all of this, but she is capable in holding in most of her tears, barely. Brainette feels she has to be the strong one now. Knowing that Mama Smurf is gone, she is next in line to be the leader. Even though Brainy is next in line to lead the smurfs, right now he is way too unstable to fulfill his duties, not that he ever was fully capable. Brainette feels she has to take the full weight of responsibility. That means she has to block her emotions from being expressed.

"I say it is time we get out of here." She finally says calmly to the others. Toughette, Hefty, and Brainy nod in agreement. They follow the smart smurfette, whom still has her arm around an emotional Toughette, back to the Smurf Village.

Hefty trails behind, but stops when he hears Gargamel coming up along a nearby path towards his house.

"Come, Azrael. We have much planning to do if we want to find our now dead smurfs." The evil wizard cackles. Gargamel pauses once he sees the rubble that was once his home.

"MY HOUSE! MY BEAUTIFUL HOUSE!" Gargamel howls. "Everything is gone! Everything I ever owned! All GONE!"

With a vengeful growl, Gargamel says, "The smurfs had to have done this, Azrael. Some may have survived the plague. How could this have happened?"

Hefty watched over his shoulder as he saw Gargamel kicking and slamming his fists onto the ground like a child that had his toy taken away. Tears swelled up even more as he also listened to the old wizard wail over the loss of his home.

"I HATE THOSE ROTTEN SMURFS!" Gargamel shouted through his crocodile tears.

"The feeling is mutual, Gargamel…" Hefty mutters to himself before turning away. The tears in his eyes fall down his cheeks as he follows his friends down the trail.


	5. Our Home No More

**Chapter 5: Our Home, No More**

It has been a full day since coming back from Gargamel's. The surviving smurfs are still finding it hard to accept all of this to be real. They decided to camp across from the smurfs that are still by the rock on the other side of the energy shield. While Brainette kept sure that everyone is fed during this time of grief, the smurflings huddle together. They are attempting to deal with this loss. Toughette cuddles with Hefty as they sit opposite from Handy and Nursette. Not knowing what else to do, the strong smurfs watch as their friends slowly die. Nursette has already passed away roughly a half hour ago. Toughette hasn't stopped crying since. Handy Smurf keeps his arm around his beloved mate. He is very sad to lose her, but is showing signs that he is too tired to even cry anymore.

Hefty hates to feel this helpless as one by one all of his friends die. He wishes there was something else the he could have done. If only there was a way to turn back time and prevent Gargamel from creating this spell. He would even sacrifice himself if everyone in the Village could be alive again.

Brainy had tried to offer Brainette his condolences when the news of Nursette was told, but she refused stating that there were many things around the camp that needed to be done. He worries more about her well being then getting upset in her refusing him. All of this will just lead up to a melt down, but instead of lecturing her about it, he decides to let her do her thing. Brainy, instead, goes back to his spot across Clumsy's lifeless body. Even though Clumsy passed away shortly after he and the other surviving smurfs ran to find the cure, Brainy feels it is his duty to sit close his best friend. Never before did Brainy feel so guilty in failing anyone. This is his worst nightmare coming true. _How could any of this be real? A whole village? Gone? All in a time span of two weeks._ What makes Brainy feel even worse is that he never got to really say goodbye to Clumsy, or to Papa Smurf, or to any of the other Smurfs. Handy Smurf is now hanging from a thin thread himself. Who knows if he is the last smurf fighting this disease or if there are others back in the village?

"Hefty…" Handy finally said weakly, looking up at his best friend.

"Yeah, old buddy?" Hefty responded, trying to give him a brave face.

"For all it's worth…I'm glad we got to be best friends…"

Hefty tries to think of what to say back, but nothing seems to want to come out.

"I don't have any regrets, even when you told me about you and Toughette burning down Gargamel's house." Handy attempts to smile, but he is too weak to hold it.

Slowly Hefty loses his brave face as his tears start falling. Still he is unable to say anything to Handy at this time.

"Do me a favor pal…?" The carpenter smurf softly asks.

"What?" Hefty finally says as he sniffles back some of the tears.

"Don't give up on life. And don't forget about us. We will all live as long as you stay alive to remember."

"Handy…?" For the first time Hefty is afraid. He can sense Handy is nearing the end.

"Just promise me…" Handy says in a whimper.

For a moment Hefty chocked on his words, "I-I promise…" he finally says. Hefty looks over to his left where Brainy is sitting and sees fresh tears falling down his cheeks before looking down at Toughette, whom is also in tears once more. The strong smurf turns over his shoulder to see Brainette and the smurflings standing by the camp, all knowing what is about to happen. Slowly Hefty turns back to Handy.

"We all promise…" He says tearfully.

"Thank you…" Handy said with a sigh, bowing his head forward.

Sadly the smurfs could do nothing as they watch Handy take his last breathe.

"Handy…?" Hefty gasped. Slowly he lets go of Toughette and gets up to walk over until the magical shield blocks him from moving any further.

"Handy…?" He repeats himself, slightly banging on the shield with his fist.

"**NO! HANDY!**" The strong smurf wails historically as he kicks and punches at the shield until he falls back, over come by grief.

Toughette, being the closest to him, takes Hefty in her arms and holds him as tight as she possibly can. Even Brainy crawls over and wraps his arms around the two strong smurfs. The smurflings also rush up with tears streaming down their faces to support the others. Brainette softly lets a few tears escape, but tries to stay as strong about this as much as possible. She leans back against a nearby tree and is thankful that she had put Babette and Baby Smurf down for a nap not long ago. Her mind wonders on how long the shield would stay up for and what she and the others would do if it does go.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The ten surviving smurfs stayed camped by the shield for the next few days. They didn't do much of anything. Mostly quietly sat as depression took over all emotions, even Babette and Baby Smurf didn't make much noise. Everything around them seemed remember the days when the Smurf Village was alive.

It hurt them to think that never again will they hear Papa Smurf, Mama Smurf, and even Grandpa Smurf's words of experience and wisdom. They won't get to hear Jokey's insane laughter and practical jokes of exploding presents anymore. Never again will they smell or taste any of Greedy and Gingerette's cooking. They'll never get to see anymore of Painter and Craftette's artistic creations. The soft beautiful singing voice of Melody would never be heard again, nor would Harmony's off key attempts to make music with his trumpet. Poet Smurf's magnificent poems, and Ballette's graceful dancing will also be forever missed.

Hefty and Toughette walk back from gathering more kindling for the camp fire. One their way, the strong smurfs pass Farmer and Cowgirl's vegetable garden. The ach in their hearts starts stinging once more. How they miss Farmer and Cowgirl, and the way would work together to grow the finest veggies the smurfs and smurfettes ever seen and tasted. Seeing the Vegetable Garden also reminds them of Floraette's exotic flower garden. Thinking about flowers reminded of Smurfette and her innocent appeal towards life. Hefty and Toughette also realize how much they will even miss how Valvette and Vanity brag on how they think that they are the most beautiful pair of the entire Village.

As the strong smurfs walk up to the camp site they notice Brainy sitting against a tree near the shield. He is hugging his legs up to his chest and resting his head on his knees as he cried. It is obvious that he is still very much upset over seeing their fellow smurfs dying right in front of them.

Hefty and Toughette drop the kindling by the burning camp fire and pass Brainette as she is stirring a pot of soup.

Brainette face shows barely any emotion, it is like she had simply shut down. Hefty couldn't help but to admire her strength with all that is happening, but at the same time he worries about her health. Even he has to let out his grief once and a while, or he will feel like blowing up inside. Toughette also shows her concern over her sister's sudden behavior. She has tried to talk to Brainette, kind of how Mama Smurf would talk to her about her temper, but the tough smurfette fails every time she tries to get through to her. Both she and Hefty share a look of concern to each other as they moved forward to the smurflings and Puppy at the other end of the camp.

"How are you smurflings doing?" Hefty asks in a soft tone.

"I wish I could say we are doing ok." Nat Smurfling honestly replies.

"We understand. All of us are finding it hard to believe that this is real." Toughette says as she sits down in between Nat and Snappy. She puts her arms around them and pulls them close to her for comfort.

"What will happen to us now?" Sassette asks Hefty as he sits in between her and Slouchy Smurfling.

"Well, we will follow Handy's wishes and keep going. No matter how much it hurts us." He answers, putting his arms around Sassette and Slouchy, pulling them close to his warm chest.

"Do you think we will stay living here?" Snappy Smurfling pipes up.

"I don't know, Snappy. I don't know." Toughette responds with a blank look to her.

Brainette peers over to where Brainy sits against a tree, near the energy shield. He is holding his glasses with one hand while rubbing his tired puffy eyes with the other. Her neutral face softens before she turns over to the strong smurfs cuddling the smurflings and leaning against Puppy's warm furry body. She brings her attention down to the sleeping babies beside her. Brainette's mind wondered back to the day they left the Village.

What had started out being a trip to study some rock minerals growing high up in the mountains, ended up being an educational trip for the smurflings. Brainy wanted to come to prove his smarts and leadership abilities to her and the smurflings. Hefty and Toughette came along to ensure everyone's safety. Puppy came to help pull the heavy wagon up the hills. It isn't till now that Brainette felt it was odd that Mama Smurf suggested that she and the other smurfs take the babies along for the camping trip. Could it be possible that her elder sensed danger and knew that the youngest smurfs of the Village would be safer with them? Brainette lifts her head up to look to tough sister once more.

"Toughette…" She says in a soft but firm tone. Toughette looks up to the smart smurfette.

"I could use your help in handing out bowls of soup to everyone. I am going to take this one to Brainy. He hasn't eaten much of anything in the past few days." The smart smurfette says as she pours some of the soup in a bowl.

"Alright." Toughette nods before getting up to start filling each bowl with even portions of soup.

Brainette gets up with the bowl of soup and walks over to Brainy. She stops just a few feet from him.

"Brainy?" She speaks in a low semi-timid voice.

Slowly the smart smurf puts his glasses on his face to look up at her. He sees the bowl of steaming soup in her hands then turns away.

"I-I made soup…" Brainette said, unsure of what to stay to him. Brainy lets out a heavy sigh and rests his head on his arms and knees that are still curled up to his chest. He doesn't even try to look back up to her.

"Come on Brainy. You need to eat something."

"I'm not hungry." He responds in a flat tone.

"But you need to keep up your strength. Believe it or not, the others are going to be depending on your leadership as well as mine to get through this difficult time." She tells him, hoping that would bring him out of this funk. She holds the bowl out to him.

Brainy shot her a look. He opened his mouth as if he is about to say something. How he would love to tell her to drop the strong emotionless act. He can tell that all of this is eating her up inside. If only she would let out her grief. She has to be missing her sisters as much as he is missing his brothers, especially Mama Smurf and Papa Smurf. Brainy lets out another sigh, knowing that it is pointless telling her anything. She can be as stubborn as he can whenever his fellow smurfs told him anything. He simply turns away from her again to stare blankly over to the dead silence of was once a lively Smurf Village.

"Um, ok…I-I-I'll just leave this here and you can eat it at your leisure then." Brainette said, finally taking the hint that he doesn't want to talk to her. She places the bowl of soup right beside Brainy, and looks at him thinking that he might just look back at her once more, but he doesn't.

Feeling hurt by his strange silent behavior, Brainette finally gets up to walk back to the camp site. She stops to take a few deep breaths in order to control herself from crying. The smart smurfette bits down hard on her lower lip to create pain as a distraction over her grief. How she wishes she could hear Gosipette's babbling about anything, even if half of the words she spoke didn't make much sense. The thought of hearing her voice would be a comfort right now.

Gradually, Brainette looks over her shoulder. She lets out a soft sigh of relief as Brainy has already picked up the bowl of soup and is taking sips from it. With a small smile she continues to head back to the camp fire where the others have started eating their bowl of soup too. Toughette and Hefty even got Babette and Baby Smurf up from their nap to start eating their portion. Brainette pours herself the last bit of soup for herself and sits across from the other smurfs. She takes small sips from her bowl while staring out in the quiet forest.

Brainy didn't realize how hungry he really was until he tried to take another gulp of soup, but got nothing. He looks down at the empty bowl in his hand. It is hard to believe that he had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he absently cleaned out the entire bowl.

He started setting the bowl down beside him where Brainette had left it earlier when a strange noise catches his attention. Brainy turns to the energy shield. It starts to flicker and making a static sound at the same time. Realizing something is not right with this, he gets up and runs up to the camp.

"Smurfs! Smurfs!" He shouts to the others. They look up with a stunned expression to see Brainy moving and talking again.

"What is it, Brainy?" Hefty asks.

"It's the shield… Something is happening to it…" Brainy struggles to get out in between breaths.

All the smurfs get up and follow Brainy back to the tree where he sat. They watch in horror as the invisible shield becomes semi visible as it flickers. Suddenly without warning the static flicker of the shield stops, the smurfs are quiet. Finally Brainette takes a step forward. Wryly she lifts her hand to touch the invisible shield only to find out that it is no longer there.

"The shield… It's gone…" She gasps, taking a couple of steps back.

The others also take a few steps back, remembering that the Village could still be affected by the deadly plague.

"Vanishing toad-warts, so are Handy, Nursette, and Clumsy!" Sassette calls out, pointing at the rock where they last lay.

"W-W-What's going on here?" Toughette nervously asks, taking even a few more steps back.

"I wonder if this is part of the spell Mama Smurf and Papa Smurf cast." Brainette pondered.

"You mean, once the shield disappears, so does every smurf that was trapped inside it?" Brainy assumed.

"Precisely." Brainette nods in agreement.

"S-Should we go in? You know, to see if there are any survivors?" Hefty speaks up.

"Not without the necessary precautions." The smart smurfette says.

"Brainette has a point. The deadly virus could still be lurking. We will put on the gloves we used when we studied the rock minerals. Plus I think we should use some kind of cloth to cover our nose and mouths." Brainy suggests.

"What about us?" Slouchy Smurfling asks, addressing him and the rest of the smurflings.

"Stay here and watch the babies." Brainy tells them.

"But," Snappy begins to protest.

"Brainy's right," Hefty said, cutting the young smurfling off. "You four will be safer if you stay in the camp. And besides, someone has to stay to watch over the babies and make sure they will be safe as well."

"What will you do if you there are any survivors?" Nat Smurfling asks.

"Don't know…" Toughette answers him, as she puts on her gloves. "Guess it will depend on the condition they are in if we do find any smurfs or smurfettes left."

After Brainy, Brainette, Hefty and Toughette put their gloves on and they've covered their nose and mouths with a clean cloth, the four of them bravely enter the dead Village.

It all seems so wrong to be walking through the Smurf Village without seeing all the other smurfs and smurfettes there. The four surviving smurfs get as far as the water well in the center of the Village before they realize that no one else still around.

"They are all gone. Every single smurf and smurfette are gone…just us only survive." Toughette finally says.

"Yeah… All that remain now are the memories." Hefty blinks back some of his tears.

"I don't like to say this, but I just don't feel safe living here anymore." Brainette comments to them.

"I hate to agree, smurfs, but she does have a point." Brainy nearly choked on his words when saying that.

"You two think the virus still may be floating around?" Toughette asks.

"That is a possibility." Brainette responds with a nod.

"S-So what do we do?" Hefty shrugged.

The smart smurfs are both silent for a moment as they thought of a solution. Finally Brainy Smurf takes a deep breathe.

"I say we gather as much memorabilia of every smurf and smurfette in the Village. The larger wagon beside the windmill is what we can use to carry them. We can also use the smaller wagon we used when we went camping too. Brainette and I will find and use a spell from Mama Smurf and Papa Smurf's spell books that will sterilize the items from ever being carriers of the virus. And after…" He paused, not sure if he could finish his sentence. His heart felt like it was breaking into a million pieces.

"After…we should burn the entire Village down. We don't want any other species to become infected with this contagious plague and wiped out thanks to Gargamel's spell." Brainy finished saying in an emotional tone.

Again there is a pause. All four surviving smurfs looked to each other as they thought about what Brainy said.

"Ok. Let's get started." Hefty finally said.

It is obvious to see that this has to be the toughest thing Hefty, Toughette, Brainy, and Brainette had to do in their young lives. Neither of them could hardly believe that only five years ago the smurfettes moved into the Smurf Village. Everyone was just getting comfortable with the new arrangements, and now it has all been swept away. They went into each house and took out at least one item that meant so much to the smurf or smurfette that owned it. For some it was easy. Vanity had one favorite mirror, Valvette had a few favorite dresses, Ballette loved to wear her ballet slippers, and Poet had his favorite writing feather along with a few of his best poems.

Hefty and Brainy couldn't decide which of Handy's tools and inventions should come, so they picked a few that held the best memory they had of him. Of course they held back on taking Handy's larger inventions due to the fact they would be too heavy for them to carry. Toughette and Brainette had a similar problem in choosing the best paintings and carvings Craftette and Painter Smurf did.

Brainette placed a few of Craftette's best sculptures and wicker baskets carefully into the smaller wagon. She is startled when five similar shaped rocks are dumped onto the wagon beside the wicker baskets.

"Ah Brainy? Those are rocks." She says, pointing out the obvious.

"Yeah, so?" Brainy responds flatly.

"Well rocks are not considered a treasure that a smurf or smurfette would possibly have meaning for."

"They are _Clumsy's_ rocks, ok!" Brainy snapped angrily at her.

"These are five of his most favorite ones from his collection. This white one is the one Klutzette gave him as a gift two years ago. I may have been a bookworm like you, but at least I paid a little more attention to my fellow smurfs then you did with your fellow smurfettes!" He finished before storming away.

Brainette is stunned. He had never talked to her like that before.

"This isn't easy for me either, you know!" She finally shouted back to him. Brainy said nothing when he turned his head to glare at her as he continued to walk away.

While the others continued to grab more memorabilia from the other houses, Brainette went into Tattlerette's home. It had paper scattered all over the place. If the redheaded smurfette was here, Brainette would certainly talk to her about fire safety and leaving paper everywhere. The smart smurfette let out a sigh knowing that would never happen. She is gone. Smurfed away like the others. Brainette walks up to Tattlerette's desk. On the desk is one of her Daily Reports. By looking at the date it was written just a week ago. Curiously, Brainette leans over the flyer and begins to read it:

_Dear surviving readers,_

_I know that this will be my very last Report that I would ever make. Our village has been infected by a deadly viral plague. It started over a week earlier when Tracker Smurf came back, bringing a very sick Wild Smurf with him from one of his hikes. According to my recourses, Gargamel is the one that created this virus and gave it to poor innocent Wild. Not long after Tracker and Wild's return that the rest of the smurfs and smurfettes started getting sick too. The situation got more serious when the victims of the plague started to smurf. The first that got smurfed were Wild and Tracker. _

_It is my sad duty to write that just the other day Mama Smurf and Papa Smurf had announced that the Smurf Village is doomed. Four days before they had made that announcement, Mama Smurf and Papa Smurf worked day and night to find a cure, but sadly none was found. They did however, mention that there is hope. That there may be a chance that some smurfs would still survive and live on. I hope that they would get a chance to read this report._

_This morning word got around that Mama Smurf and Papa Smurf both smurfed. There was not a dry eye in the village for those that still remained. The spell they used to create a powerful energy shield that blocks any smurf from leaving the Village, and for any creature in the forest, including our ten surviving smurfs from entering and becoming sick too, had drained them. Mama Smurf and Papa Smurf both knew the consequences of what could happen after conjuring the energy shield, but also they knew that it was the only solution._

_Not long ago I heard a trumpet being played. By the sound of it the player tried to sound in tune, but a few notes were indeed off key. As the music played you can feel the emotion of sadness and grief in it. Harmony Smurf played for every smurf and smurfette in the Village to attempt to keep up spirits, or it could have been that Melody has lost her battle to the virus. What the reason why he played it, it was a comfort to hear some activity in the quietness of our Village. I admit that Harmony has certainly improved over the years since Melody and the rest of us smurfettes moved to the Smurf Village. It is a shame that our lives here could not be longer._

_The Village now is once again silent. I sit at my desk while my beloved Grouchy lies asleep on my bed. As many of you might know, Grouchy and I have had an odd relationship. How he always seem to love annoying me with his 'I hate this' and his 'I hate that' phrases. Yet, I have always enjoyed his company. Even if at times he would hardly say anything at all to me._

_Just before coming down to write this report, we spoke. We reminisced on the time I felt I had to cover one of the most dangerous stories since the volcano that destroyed the Smurfette Village over five years ago. I'm sure you, as my loyal readers, may indeed remember it. Grouchy, for some reason felt I should not go alone to Hogatha's castle to report her plans in taking over the witch's council. It turned out that it was a good thing that he came along with me; otherwise I may not have been able to survive and write that story in my Daily Report. _

_Moments after talking about that day, Grouchy started looking weaker. He motioned for me to come closer. I took a wild guess and said that he was going to tell me that he 'hates being sick'. He smiled. It was a weak and tired smile, but seeing him like that warmed me up inside. It isn't often that I get to see him smile. Grouchy shook his head as to tell me that that was not what he wanted to say. Again he motioned for me to come closer. I leaned close enough so he could whisper in my ear 'I love you'. _

_Those words will stick with me always. After hearing him say that was enough to get me crying. I told him that I loved him back. Soon after that he fell asleep. I know his end is near, as the same goes with me. All that matters is that we will be together. As strange as it may sound, Grouchy and I were really meant to be together. That is why I felt it important to write this report. _

_My dear surviving readers please stay safe. Smurfs would not fully smurf as long as we are never forgotten. Our spirits will always be with you._

_May your smurf be merry._

_Tattlerette._

Brainette is taken off guard when a large teardrop lands on her hand. Before she realizes what is happening, she collapses on the floor with uncontrollable sobs. The smart smurfette never felt this horrible before. Never has she ever cried so hard in her life. For some reason one of _Tattlerette's Daily Reports_ had actually pushed her over her emotional limit. This made if harder to believe being that she has always hated those _Daily Report_. She always felt they were an over exaggeration of the truth. Even some of her top stories like when she reported Hefty Smurf after he first arrived in the Smurfette Village. Or her major story she covered when the Smurfette Village had been destroyed due to a nearby irrupting volcano.

The thought accrued that she might have wanted to cry out like this ever since she had discovered there really is not cure for the plague that apparently whipped the Village clean of smurfs and smurfettes. By reading _Tattlerette's Daily Report_ was just the perfect excuse to let her guard down. Brainette automatically starts hugging herself in hopes it would get herself under control, but no such luck. It turns out that only allows her to cry even louder. She could only imagine if Brainy saw her now, how he would love to say 'I told you so' to her for not letting her emotions out sooner.

Meanwhile outside, Toughette just put some more personal items that once belonged to some of her fellow smurfettes when she heard crying coming from Tattlerette's house.

"Brainette?" She whispered.

The tough smurfette walks in a quickened pace up to the redheaded smurfette's home. The door is already half way open. Toughette gently pushes the door open more before walking in. She sees Brainette rocking herself back and forth down on the floor, and crying so hard that it sounds like she is having problems breathing.

Toughette knew that Brainette was bound to break down sooner or later. Without saying anything, the tough smurfette simply walks up to her smart sister. She kneels down beside her, and wraps her arms around her.

"It's ok, Brainette. Let it all out. Let it all out." Toughette softly tells the smart smurfette in the ear. A few tears even fell down her face once more as she cuddled her smart sister.

Gently the golden haired smurfette rocks Brainette and strokes her back as if she were a young smurfling that had just fallen and scraped her knee. Brainette is so overwhelmed with the grief she is feeling that has no strength to stand up and refuse Toughette's comfort. Her body trembles all over. Her sobs seems to have no end to them. As it turns out, she actually appreciates having Toughette sitting with her at this moment. It is hard to play the mature role model in this crisis situation.

It would be a good ten minutes before Brainette finally calms down and she and Toughette get up from the floor. Without saying a word to each other, Brainette grabs Tattlerette's last _Daily Report_ before the two of them leave the house.

Toughette and Hefty Smurf take the two wagons filled with smurf and smurfette memorabilia up near the camp where they left the smurflings. They prepare to attach the wagons together and onto Puppy's special collar. They never thought that they would be glad to actually leave the Smurf Village forever.

It was not long till Brainy and Brainette joined the others. The two smart smurfs each carried five books, except Brainette, who is carrying six books.

"I thought you two were finding a spell to cleanse and protect our memorabilia's?" Hefty asks, placing his fits firmly on his hips.

"We did, but we also realized that we didn't get anything to remember Mama Smurf and Papa Smurf with." Brainy explains, putting the books in what little space the smaller wagon had left. "I managed to grab a few of Papa Smurfs memoirs and favorite spell books."

"And I got a few of Mama Smurf's best herb and spell books. One thing that I have noticed is that you didn't want to save any of your Quotation books, Brainy. I hope you don't mind that I went and grabbed this one." Brainette says, holding up one of the _Quotations of Brainy Smurf _books.

"It is one of my favorites of the series you have written." She adds, giving the book a little hug.

Brainy gives her an odd look. _'Is she trying to make me feel better by trying to flatter those stupid books?'_ He thought. Ever since coming back from their camping trip, Brainy has not once worried about his Quotations. In fact, he wishes to just leave that part of his life behind since it no longer implies. He finally shakes his head at her.

"Whatever. Let's just get this spell over with so we can finally leave this place." The smart smurf replies coldly.

The smurflings heard what Brainy said. They sat with their jaws dropped. Did Brainy actually say that? Even with half their faces are still coved with a cloth, Hefty and Toughette showed a shocked expression with how Brainy reacted to Brainette's comment.

Feeling rejected, Brainette carefully puts the book in the wagon with the other treasures. She walks up to Brainy. He takes a covered beaker that he had tied around his waist, and holds it out in front of him.

Brainette uncovers the beaker. She carefully places her hands over Brainy's.

"**Abstergo plaga tutis**." Brainy and Brainette chant at once.

The liquid inside the beaker turns to vapor. It surrounds every item on top of the two wagons. The wagons, and everything on them, glow for a few seconds before looking normal once more.

After covering and tying down the smurf treasures with two large cloths, the four adult smurfs go back through the Village to do one more thing. They each light up a torch and start burning all the houses, including the windmill, and Dreamy's ship. It was very difficult for them to do this, but deep inside they knew it had to be done to protect the other species of the forest.

Once everything has been set on fire they come back to rejoin the smurflings. Finally Hefty, Toughette, Brainy, and Brainette can now take off their cloth masks and gloves. They watch the entire Village being engulf in flames. Each one of them shed a few tears, especially the smurflings.

"Well, there goes the second place we called home." Toughette comments as she leans up against Hefty for support.

"Come on. We should get going if we want to get as far from here as we can before dark." Brainy says as he leads the way down the path.

Puppy struggles a bit with his extra load, but with Hefty and Toughette's help he is able to keep up with the other smurfs. Sassette and Nat both carry the babies on their backs; while Slouchy and Snappy carry both their backpacks and Sassette and Nat's.

Brainette stops after walking half a mile to look back. She pulls out a small pouch she attached to her belt and pours a powdery substance onto the palm of her hand.

"**Abdo**…" She whispers before blowing on the powder. The powder floats up and over the wagons tracks and foot prints they were all creating along the dirt trail. Almost instantly the tracks disappear. Brainette turns and continues walking in the direction Puppy and the other smurfs are heading.

**OoOoOoOoOoOo**

Latin words used for the spells…

**abdo :** remove / hide, conceal.

**abstergo :** to wipe off, clean away.

**plaga :** plague

**tutis :** protected, safe, secure.

_(Stay tuned. More to come shortly…)_


	6. The Black Year, pt1

**Special thanks to the reviewers:**

**_Tabby Tadavi_ – It's always a treat getting your reviews, thanks for all your kind words! I look forward in getting to read more of your stories, so keep writing, sweetie :-) Also, thanks for beta reading these chapters for me! You did an awesome job.**

**_Luna Cat_ – Believe it or not, I only been on a plane once, lol. To me it felt like being on a speed boat in the air. Glad you are enjoying the story so far.**

**_Smurfan_ – I'm glad you are enjoying the stories and my characters, the smurfettes ;) I didn't quite get the site you are trying to suggest to me. For some reason ff. net doesn't allow posts of links in the stories or in the reviews. But if you would to look in my profile (just click my name and it will take you to my profile) there are links to egroups that I host and links to certain pages on my website that have my artworks based on my fan fiction stories.**

**Chapter 6: The Black Year, Part 1**

"Come Azrael," Gargamel says to his cat as they trudge through the Enchanted Woods, " We have searched all week, so chances of us finding some left over smurfs are very much possible by now. And when we do find them we will have our revenge for destroying our home." The evil wizard chuckles.

_Oh, I'll fry a few,_

_And I'll pickle a few,_

_And I'll serve a few real cold. _

_Then I'll Toast a few,_

_And roast a few,_

_And boil six smurfs for gold._

Gargamel sang with mad look in his eyes.

"Mer-ow." The orange cat purred with a nod.

As they near the boundary of the forest Gargamel stops briefly to sniff the air. "Do you smell smoke?" He asks while scratching his head.

"Meower-ow." Azrael shrugs. They move again, and soon they emerge from the Enchanted Forest into the clearing and suddenly stop in astonishment at the unexpected sight that greets them.

"What's this?" The crusty old wizard gasps. He stands dumbfounded in front of what used to be hundreds of mushroom-shaped houses. They are now nothing more then piles of smouldering ash and rubble.

"I don't believe it!" He says with a choke. "Could this be the Smurf Village?" He takes a few steps to take a closer look to make sure his eyes are not deceiving him. Once he is convinced this is for real, he starts to grin with glee. "Hmm, It would appear that someone or something already have beaten us in setting fire to the smurf's home. Oh, well. Anyone for some well cooked smurfs?" Gargamel cackles as he smacks his lips.

"Meow!" Azrael nods eagerly.

The evil wizard and his furry companion start searching through the ash and burnt lumber, pushing back some of the debris in hopes of finding some charred smurfs to eat. Disappointment hit them when they discover there are no smurfs to be found. With desperation, Gargamel scurries from one ruined mushroom-shaped house to other, picking them apart down to last piece but with no success.

Finally, Gargamel stops in the middle of what is left of the tiny village. Throwing up his arms, he lets out a frustrated cry.

"Gone! Everything is gone! Not a single smurf can be found! How is this possible?" The befuddled wizard wails.

"It is possible because you have failed, as usual." A sly, dark male voice speaks from behind.

Gargamel twirls around to see who it is and does a double take when he sees the figure peering at him from behind a nearby oak tree. "You!" He hiccups, recognizing the newcomer instantly.

The mysterious figure sniggers nastily. Stepping from behind the tree, he walks toward the old wizard and stops a few feet in front of Gargamel . He is lean and is about the same height as crotchety old wizard. Over his midnight-black garments, he wears a reddish brown cloak with the hood pulled over his head, which shadows his face so his features are not readily discernable. He speaks again in a voice which sends chills up the wizard's back.

"I do not understand. I did you this favour by just handing over a book that certainly never would come to you cheap. It was a gift, and this is how you pay for my generosity? By letting some these pathetic blue insects survive?" The cloaked newcomer growls angrily.

Gargamel is taken aback. "Survive? Y-You mean there are still some smurfs left? But how? Where are they now? Is there enough to at least make gold?" The wizard says nervously, yet with a hint of excitement.

The stranger throws up his gloved hand to forestall Gargamel. "Do not bore me with such ridiculous questions!" He says coldly.

Gargamel, however, keeps on talking. "P-Please, I have done what you asked. This is only a set back. I'll find the smurfs that survived and crush them. Just tell me which way they went," Gargamel pleads, shaking his fist with emphasis.

"Meow!" Azrael nods in agreement.

"NO!" The stranger bellows, causing Gargamel and Azrael to jump, "I require no more use from you, or any of the other humans I found with hatred in their hearts! Your days of being my pawn have now come to an end!"

"A-A-A pawn?" Gargamel does not like the sound of himself being used by anyone.

The cloaked man raises his bony, hairy hand up to Gargamel's head. His long and sharp black nails appear like tiny daggers, aiming directly at the evil wizard's eyes. Eerie green mist drifts from his claws and seeps right through the dark eyes of Gargamel.

"Time to forget everything I have ever told you about smurfs," the dark man intones, "All the lies I have spoken about being able to turn them into gold, or being able to eat them. You have spent all your life alone and rejected by the rest of humanity. As for your house – it was destroyed by kids that wandered into your yard. Sleep now, and when wake up you must live the rest of your life dealing with getting a new home or trying to survive the winter with no shelter."

As Gargamel topples onto the ground in a dreamless slumber, the cloaked figure turns his attention toward Azrael. The orange cat quivers at the sight of him who has so much power, and whose eyes glint so malevolently.

"The same goes with you too, feline." The stranger growls, pointing his bony finger at him. Green mist drifts toward at Azrael, seeping into his eyes as well. Azrael drops in a hypnotic slumber beside his master.

Satisfied that the wizard and his mangy cat have been dealt with, the dark figure turns towards the burnt village. Again he raises his hand up and sweeps it sideways. A creepy and mysterious wind blows sharply; causing the charred mushroom homes to be swept away into the sky and disappears over the treetops.

"I alone will deal with these surviving blue bugs." The stranger says before letting out an evil chuckle. Two glowing red eyes appear beneath the dark shadow of his cloaked hood.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**THREE MONTHS LATER…**

The first raise of the morning sun creeps upward from behind the eastern mountain. A lonely smurf sits in front of the mouth of a cave. He watches as the sun slowly makes its appearance. This is what this bookish smurf likes to do every morning ever since their journey away from the Old Village.

Brainy Smurf removes his glasses from his face in order to rub the lingering tiredness out of his eyes. He put his spectacles back on before looking over at the other smurfs still sleeping on their beds of straw. Over the past few months, Brainy have been able to memorize everyone's routine every morning. He himself is usually the last one to go to sleep and the first one up to greet the sunrise. The next two smurfs after him to wake up are usually Hefty and Toughette, of course. As Brainy watches, the sunlight crawls up to their faces and soon the two strong, young smurfs begin to stir. With a stretch and a yawn, Hefty and Toughette get up and head out of the cave.

"Morning." Brainy greets them calmly as they passed him by.

"Morning." They both mutter sourly back at him, still not quite fully awake.

The bespectacled smurf watches as Hefty and Toughette prepare to do their customary morning exercises. However, instead of going for a jog, which is their usual morning routine, they start on practicing their combat skills with the wooden staffs.

Brainy have not really watched them spar back home…that is, when the Old Smurf Village was still standing then. Now, it has become a part of his morning ritual to watch as they clash their staffs together. It seems to Brainy that Hefty and Toughette are practicing even harder then they ever had back home. Quite possibly Hefty and Toughette understand that they are now very vulnerable out in the open. No magic from beneath the destroyed Village can protect them and the remaining survivors out here anymore. Because of this, the tough duo have taken it upon themselves to be the protectors of the small group no matter what the cost. Of course Brainy worries that they are overdoing it with their daily practices, because some mornings when the two of them are sparring one another, they keep it up for so long and so hard they are out of breath, sore all over and utterly exhausted at the same time. But even so, Brainy knows that it is important for Hefty and Toughette to be in top shape and ever ready for action, just in case they run into some unknown danger.

As Hefty and Toughette take a short break from their practice to catch their breath, Brainy turns once more to the rest of the slumbering smurfs. The next one to wake up is Brainette. She rubs the sleep from her eyes before placing her pink-rimmed glasses on her face. Brainy absent-mindedly watches her as she yawns and stretches her arms out at the same time. He makes a mental note on how pretty she looks with her hair down first thing in the morning.

Not wanting Brainette to know he is watching her, Brainy turns around and looks out the cave once again. Hefty and Toughette have resumed their sparring practice. Behind him Brainette, still sitting in her bed, ties her hair up in two pigtails. Afterwards she straightens up her bed and heads over to the now-cold fire pit to start it up, to prepare breakfast for the group.

Hearing Brainette rustles around Brainy looks back into the cave and notices the smurflings and Puppy are finally starting to wake up. At last he gets up from his rock, and walks slowly over to where the smurflings are.

"Snappy, Nat, lets go get breakfast." The bespectacled smurf orders as he picks up a few baskets from their smaller wagon.

Without saying anything, the two smurflings simply nod as they get up and follow Brainy out of the cave.

"While they go get our breakfast, why don't you two go get me some more kindling for this fire?" Brainette says to the remaining smurflings still in their beds.

"Alright." Sassette chimes, still rubbing her eyes.

"Ok." Slouchy agrees with a wide yawn.

As Sassette and Slouchy walk out of the cave they notice Hefty and Toughette taking a swipe at each other with their staffs, trying to cause other to trip and stumble. Never have the smurflings seen their self-vowed protectors so focused in their practice. They stop to gaze, half with interest and half with dread, knowing of their own practices later this morning after breakfast.

For Hefty and Toughette have recently decided that the smurflings would need to learn how to defend themselves against danger. The strong duo know that the surviving group can not rely on magic anymore to protect themselves from foes who wish to hunt them and do harm to them. To them, fighting seems to be the only option for defence now. Eventually Sassette and Slouchy wander off into the woods, leaving Hefty and Toughette to continue practicing until breakfast is called.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**AN HOUR LATER…**

All ten of the surviving smurfs and Puppy are sitting together just outside of the cave, eating their breakfast of berries and porridge. Puppy is being fed a special dog mix the smurfs have always fed him, which consisted of chopped vegetables and fish. They usually take this time to discuss and plan out the safest path to take on their journey. The older smurfs acknowledge that they have no idea where they are going, or what to do once they get there, but one thing is certain; the place they will eventually reach will be safer then the Old Village.

As they discuss about this, with Brainy practically arguing with Hefty and Toughette about which direction to take, Brainette is sitting quietly to one side, doing a little calculating on her abacus. The smurflings just sit and listen to their elders discussing their destination. How they wish they would stop traveling! It is not natural for even the most athletic smurfs to travel so far and for so long. According to the stories Grandpa Smurf shared with them, even the long-bearded old smurf himself stopped at one location only after two days of hiking. It still hurts so much just thinking about Grandpa Smurf, knowing that they will never hear his stories anymore. The smurflings continue to eat in silence their porridge topped with smurf berries while the adults decide if they should go northeast or west over the large mountain up ahead. At the same time Brainy and Toughette share their porridge with the babies.

Brainette finishes making one last adjustment on her abacus before looking up at her fellow smurfs still arguing heatedly.

"Hold it," she announces, and the other smurfs quickly stops their discussion to look at her intently. Even the smurflings and Puppy look at her, too. "According to my calculations winter will be approaching soon." Brainette continues, "Even if we do make it over the mountain before the first snowfall, we still would not be prepared for the cold weather. I suggest we make this cave as our shelter for this winter."

"I second that notion!" Snappy quickly agrees, waving his hand high above his head.

"I third it!" Sassette cries out next.

"Yeah, us too!" Both Nat and Slouchy crow at once.

Brainy, Toughette, and Hefty look at each other before letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Fine," Hefty says wiping away with his hand the plan that he had drawn on the dirt floor of the cave. "Starting after breakfast I will take Slouchy, Snappy, and Puppy along with one of the wagons out to get firewood. Brainy, you and Brainette are in charge in getting our food supply stocked, and Toughette you can focus on training Sassette and Nat on their self-defence. In an hour I will switch Snappy and Slouchy for their training, while I take Sassette and Nat hunting for more winter supplies. We can continue this routine till winter begins."

Toughette, Brainy, and Brainette take a moment to think over Hefty's plan.

"Agreed." They all nod simultaneously.

"Aw…" the four young smurflings whine. Although they are relieved to be staying at this cave for a time being, they are definitely not looking forward to all the hard work they will be doing.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

A month and a half pass by, and as predicted the freezing winter storms come. The surviving smurfs had never worked so hard in their own lives to prepare themselves for the next few months of cold weather. They make sure that the wood and food gathered would be more then enough to last. Brainette even creates a special gutter to gather fresh water from the fallen snow. For entertainment, the smurfs use a deck of cards that they saved from the Old Village. Brainy and Brainette decide to focus more in studying the spell books they rescued from Papa Smurf's and Mama Smurf's laboratories. The bespectacled duo even collected special herbs for protection spells and medicine just in case any of the other smurfs got sick during this winter storm. They also take this opportunity to brush up on their Latin and to teach it to the smurflings, too. Hefty and Toughette continue the martial arts training with the smurflings as well near the entrance of the cave.

And all too soon, Christmas comes.

It has not escaped them that this is the very first Christmas without the rest of the smurfs and smurfettes. The surviving smurfs had decide not to let the pain of the loss of their beloved ones dominate their every day lives. Instead, each night they would gather around the fire pit with hot coco, and tell heart-warming stories of the old days as cheerfully as possible. The smurflings treasure these stories most of all, especially when the adults shared their tales according to their earliest memories when they were smurflings themselves.

One evening, as the smurfs sit reminiscing about past Christmases, Puppy is sitting near the entrance of the cave. For some reason he seems to be somewhat spooked by something from outside. The past few days Puppy would sit for hours and just stare out in the white blanket of falling snow. Every so often he would let out a growl to whomever or whatever that is lurking outside. This strange behaviour has the other smurfs concerned and a little bit mystified, for no matter how hard they look they could not see what is troubling their beloved pet.

"Puppy, this is the fifth time today you growled at the snow. Is there something out there boy?" Nat Smurfling finally asks, walking over to their nervous young dog and patting him on one of his legs to calm him down.

Puppy turns to the young smurfling and begins to whimper. But then he stops and turns his head quickly to stare steadily out of the cave. Curious, Nat turns to follow the young dog's gaze. With a gasp, he suddenly takes a few steps back. He can not see anything, of course, for it is dark outside. But for once he can sense something is very wrong. Feeling very nervous now, Nat slowly backs away back into the cave. One of the adult smurfs noticed his unusual behaviour right away.

"What's wrong, Nat?" Toughette asks softly, walking up to the quivering smurfling with a blanket wrapped over her for warmth.

"T-T-There's something out there," Nat stutters fearfully, pointing out towards the darkness. "I-I-I can feel it!"

The blond smurfette focuses her eyes, trying to see what Nat sees into sheer blackness. But all she can make out is sheet of falling snow. She listens carefully but can only hear whistling wind blowing through the trees.

Toughette shook her head. "I'm sorry, Nat. I don't see anything," she tells the young smurfling, "Why don't you and Puppy come sit with the rest of us by the fire? We are going to make another pot of hot coco soon." As she herds the young dog and smurfling towards the rest of smurfs gathered around the fire, Toughette takes one last look outside. A mild sense of uneasiness washes over her and she shivers. She tightens the blanket around her body more tightly before following her own advice.

Outside, the howling wind blows even harder, driving the snow onto the ground. Within the dark depths of the surrounding forest two glowing red eyes appear. A soft eerie chuckle is heard, blending nicely with the wind.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Another two months roll by without any unusual occurrences. The restless smurflings decide to go out and play a bit with Puppy in what is left of snow before it all melts away by springtime's warm sun.

Snappy, Slouchy, Sassette, and Nat are quite glad that winter is coming to an end. Soon they will not have to go running in the field without getting cold feet from the snow. Puppy is also anxious in seeing the green grass again. The only thing that Puppy and the Smurflings are not looking forward to is the fact that the adults are again planning to pack up and move on down the long path they had considered taking before winter came. For now, the smurflings will take advantage of their free time to play fetch with Puppy, mostly just to get a little exercise after being cooped up in a cave all winter. Baby and Babette are seated near a patch of snow. The two youngest smurfs are cooing and playing happily, making snow sculptures with their bare hands.

Brainy and Hefty are in front of the cave, watching the smurflings, while the smurfettes are inside preparing lunch and at the same time packing most of their treasures and camping supplies back onto the wagons. Brainy is sitting on a large rock, explaining some theories of certain spells he and Brainette have been studying over the winter to Hefty as he does his usual one-armed push ups.

"So, as I was saying to Brainette that the perfect spell in order to find our new home would be a good locator spell," Brainy rambles, "I think I might have found one in one of Papa Smurf's spell books."

Hefty finally stops his push ups to look up at his intelligent but annoying brother.

"Uh, Brainy. To be honest, I'm not really interested. I'm just looking forward in moving on until the perfect place just happens to show up," He says, wiping some beads of sweat from his forehead.

"Hefty, we need a more stable plan then that! We can't just wander aimlessly all over the land until something just happens to show up," Brainy lectures. He looks at Hefty over his glasses, "Now, if I were you, maybe you should try exercising your mind more instead of your muscles," He holds up a book he has been reading as an example.

"Look we've already been through this," Hefty growls, "Toughette and I will focus more on being the physical defenders, and you and Brainette are in charge of spells."

"But---" Before Brainy can say something to contradict Hefty, they hear Puppy barking sharply somewhere out of sight. And then, suddenly, young dog cries out in pain. The cry echoes across the meadow.

"**PUPPY!**" The four smurflings can be heard shouting out in pure horror.

Brainy and Hefty exchanged quick glances. "As I was just saying…" Hefty mutters with an exasperated look at his younger brother. He then turns around and sticks his head inside the cave. "Toughette, there's trouble!" He yells.

Toughette does not waist any time. She grabs two staffs leaning up against the wall and tosses one of them to Hefty. The two of them rush grimly over to where the smurflings are playing with Puppy with their staffs held over their heads. Brainy and Brainette follow behind their strong companions, carrying a few magic pouches they made up during the winter storms.

The smurflings are already scurrying frantically toward their fallen furry friend. The babies are crying out at the top of their lungs, fearful of the creature that attacked Puppy.

"What's going on?" Toughette cries out as soon as she and Hefty enters the scene.

"He just came out of nowhere and attacked us!" Snappy explains his voice shaky.

"If it weren't for Puppy we would all have been smurf-cakes!" Sassette cries, sobbing.

"Wait! Who attacked you?" Hefty asks, trying to make sense of what the smurflings are saying.

"Him!" All four smurflings point up to a stranger in a reddish brown cloak, half hidden in the woods.

Slowly the stranger lifts his head to expose his glowing red eyes. He makes an eerie chuckle that sends chills up the smurfs' spines.

"Whoa!" Brainy and Brainette gasp as soon as they catch up to Hefty, Toughette, and the smurflings.

"W-Who are you?" Toughette demands the stranger, trying not to sound frightened at the sight of his glowing red eyes and his eerie laugh.

"Who am I?" The creature repeats the question with a laugh. He brings his bony hands up to his hood. Slowly he pulls it back to exposes his face, which is very scary to behold. Very thin, his bluish-grey skin wraps tightly around his skull. Reddish-brown with bits of grey hair matted at the top of his head and down the sides of his face in a Scottish style. It looks like he hadn't combed his hair in centuries. His red eyes, which once glows brightly under the hood, now dims to a dull reddish hue. He grins broadly, revealing sharp, yellowish fang teeth.

"I am the last thing you loathing creatures will ever see. I am Asmoday!"

"Creepy caterpillars, that guy look like he is just skin and fur!" Sassette quivers.

"Loathing? What did we ever do to you that made you hate us so much?" Brainy asks sharply. He and the other three adult smurfs hastily gather the smurflings and push them back away from this creature and toward where the babies are.

"Nothing really. You just exist." Asmoday said coldly.

Brainette turns to face the repulsive-looking creature. "I-I don't understand. You are a demon…I can see that. As far as any of us know, we have no quarrel with you," she says, forcing herself to look steadily and bravely at him, "And if I know my demonology, you cannot do anything to us unless someone conjures you, or if anyone has done something to have you want to get involved. Now just because we _exist_, as you put it, is not enough to have you to want to destroy us." The intellectual smurfette points out.

Asmoday sniggers nastily. "You're right. It's not the reason of you just existing. It's because you were created by a pathetic human, centuries ago. It is unnatural for mortals to play God and create living creatures, and _that_ really makes me **_angry_**!" The demon growls. He draws himself up and declares, "After I deal with the likes of you it is just a matter of finding the nest where you worms originate from, and destroy that too!"

At this statement the smurfs all stare at him in astonishment and a little confused. Especially the bespectacled smurf.

"W-What?" Brainy is beside himself. What does this demon mean by that?

"Is it possible? You little blue insects have no clue of what your history is?" Asmoday grinned with amusement at the expression on their faces.

Brainy tries to cover up his confusion. "Of course we do. Papa Smurf tells us all the time!" He lies. How he wishes his elder is here right now!

"Oh really? He never told me." Hefty said glairing at his brother.

"Or me either." Snappy added, frowning.

"Yeah," the rest of the smurflings whined.

"Brainy, I don't think even Mama Smurf or Papa Smurf knew of our proper origin." Brainette honestly admits, shaking her head regretfully. Brainy trembles, looking as though he is on verge of collapsing.

Just then Toughette steps forth.

"We may not know of _our_ history, but this demon will soon **be** _history_ for hurting our Puppy!" Toughette crows angrily, raising her staff up and looking ready to begin fighting. The golden blond smurfette looks over to see if Puppy is still alive. She is relieved that he is indeed still breathing, but at the same time she is worried that he is not waking up yet. In fact, as far as she can tell, Puppy's injuries look very serious indeed.

Hefty nods grimly. "I'm with you, Toughette." He says, preparing himself for battle along his girlfriend's side.

"Aw, how sweet." The demon chuckled sarcastically as the tough protectors advance bravely toward him, wielding their staffs. "Just think, I hadn't created that fateful storm smurfs and smurfettes would never have been reunited."

The smurfs gasped loudly. Both Hefty and Toughette stop, looking flabbergasted at him. "What are you talking about?" Hefty said in a state of shock.

"Oh, I suppose I could bring you up to date of what brings us here today. You know, before I officially make you all extinct." Asmoday mockingly placed his finger on his chin as to make himself look like he's pondering over his thoughts.

The smurfs stand silent, unsure how to react to any of this.

Asmoday begins reciting as though he is reading a storybook to a little child. "Thousands of years ago a mysterious storm took the original smurfette and baby smurfette away from the original smurf and baby smurf. You can blame me for that." Asmoday proudly admitted. "I recreated that very storm that swept you, Hefty Smurf, to the Smurfette Village. And as for the volcano that destroyed the Smurfette Village," he chuckled, "guess you can blame that on me too."

"Why you---" Toughette growls and takes a step forward, ready to bash Asmoday's head in if possible.

"Hold it! Let's hear what else he has to say." Hefty says, stopping her with one hand.

"Yes, my little fiery-tempered blond one. You will die soon enough, at any rate," The demon smirks with confidence.

"Excuse me for interrupting, but why did you go to all that trouble to separate the smurfs and smurfettes only to reunite them thousands of years later?" Brainy asks, now that he recovered from his shock.

"Good question." Brainette nods approvingly to Brainy. She in fact was about to ask that very same question, Brainy just happened to beat her to it.

"I admit it; I just like toying with you lower life forms," the demon remarks carelessly, "That is why I made my game more interesting during the past twenty years when I confronted many humans that drowned themselves with hatred and greed. I believe you all know them: Gargamel, Hogatha, Balthazar, Chlorhydris, and Gloria. All pawns of my greatest evil," he pauses to gauge the smurfs' reaction. They merely look at him and do not say anything, so he continues. "However, thanks to the Sceptre of Faith, Gloria re-found her true nature and stopped trying to destroy the smurfettes. I confronted all of them; told them great lies of fortune and fame if they were to hunt and capture all you smurfs." The skinny, hairy demon seems to glow with pride as he openly admits his crime.

Brainette had been thinking hard. Now she says her thoughts out loud: "You mean the lie that six smurfs would make gold, and six smurfettes would make diamonds?"

"Now you're catching on." He applauds the young bespectacled smurfette. "Although, some of the humans I found, like Chlorhydris for example, just hated anything to do with love. Once I told her that you blue bugs were nothing but loveable creatures, she made her life's goal to do what she could to destroy that love in all of you. That in itself amused me."

"So, let me get this straight," Hefty says, recalling everything he just heard.

"You are the reason why Gargamel and all the other crazy humans have been trying to track us down?"

"Precisely." The demon nods proudly.

Sassette is shaking her head as though the information she had absorbed proves too much for the poor little smurfling. "Because of you, Pappy Gargamel got all of our friends sick, and now they are gone!" Sassette bursts out tearfully.

"Why little one, I am the one that gave that foolish human Guland's book of Plagues and Diseases," The demon let out a evil laugh, "You ever thought for an instant a person like him could ever afford such a generous gift?"

"It's because of you then that we lost our home, and our fellow smurfs!" Hefty growls angrily.

"That is correct. Now you will join them!" Asmoday says, his eyes glowing brighter and redder by every second.

"NOT SMURFING LIKELY!" Hefty screams as he swings his staff at the skinny demon.

Asmoday, proving that he is much stronger then he looks, moves quickly. With one fluid motion he grabs the staff before it hits him. While Hefty is still clinging to the other end of the staff, the demon flings the strong smurf back to the other smurfs, knocking Brainy down with him.

"Are you two alright?" Nat Smurfling asks anxiously as he and Slouchy help Hefty and Brainy to their feet again.

"I'll be fine…I think," Brainy said, rubbing his aching head.

"Good, because I want you and Brainette to stay here with the smurflings!" Hefty announces, grabbing the staff and preparing himself to fight the demon once again.

"But---" The scholarly smurf tries to argue.

"Hefty's right, no matter what, stay with the smurflings. In any sign of trouble, take them and run as far away as you can." Toughette says, taking her place next to Hefty's side.

"Get him good, Hefty and Toughette!" Sassette calls out, encouraging their tough protectors. So saying, she begins to throw her fists into the air, as if trying to punch someone.

Brainy feels as if his heart had just jumped up into his throat. Hefty is his only surviving brother from the village. The two of them may have had their differences, but yet, they could still tolerate each other to a certain extent. He knows that this demon is strong. Heck, from what Papa Smurf has ever told him about demons that they are bad news. Unless you have some powerful magical spells with magical emblems you may never stand a chance against such creatures. Being a smurf doesn't help much either.

"Be careful," The bespectacled smurf finally whispers to his strong brother and a friend.

Hefty looks right into Brainy's eyes. He does not say anything, just stands there, and what appears like he is studying the features on Brainy's face. And, could it be? Is that a hint of fear in Hefty's eyes?

"Just stay with the smurflings, Brainy." The strong smurf finally warns before running in the direction of the demon.

"I don't like this, Toughette." Brainette tells her blond sister.

"You heard Hefty. Stay with the smurflings!" The tough smurfette barks gruffly before joining her boyfriend into battle, possibly for the last time.

Babette and Baby Smurf once again howl in tears. Brainette and Brainy Smurf pick up the frightened infants and cuddle them as they themselves worry about their fellow brave smurfs fight.

Hefty and Toughette rush up to Asmoday, ready for battle. One thing's for sure. This demon is not going to get away with what he has done to the Smurf Village, their home. And their beloved ones, too. The two strong smurfs wants to do to Asmoday what they did to Gargamel's home, but thrashing him face to face will be even better.

Toughette goes for her fake-out move. She makes it look like she will swing the staff up towards the demon's head, but instead she does a leap spin kick to his knee. Even though Asmoday is about the same height as Gargamel, the kick still caused him to lose balance long enough for Hefty to step in to slam his staff hard onto the demon's back.

The smurflings cheer wildly to see the evil monster fall down to his knees. Brainy and Brainette both smile, but yet, they still worry for the outcome of this fight.

Feeling slightly embarrassed for being knocked down to his knees by mere mortal creatures that should have never existed in the first place, Asmoday shows his disapproval through the glowing redness of his eyes. He clinches his yellowish fang teeth together and lets out a blood-chilling growl.

Hefty and Toughette are not surprised that the demon is getting back up, nor do they flinch from their fighting stance. They prepare themselves for any unexpected moves Asmoday might make.

The unexpected is exactly what they get. Asmoday throws up his arms and swings them down, creating a gust of wind outward from his body, so strong it knocks Hefty and Toughette right off their feet. Asmoday then strikes out, snake-like, at the closes smurf. Hefty, having managed to get back up on his feet, tries to dodge the large bony hand. But he isn't fast enough. The demon backhands him so hard that the tough smurf went flying a few feet before bouncing on the ground once then rolling over twice.

When Hefty hit the ground it knocks the wind out of him. He struggles briefly to get up then passes out.

"**Hefty!**" The four smurflings cry out in terror. Brainy and Brainette look at each other in dismay, as if to ask what they could do to help, but at the same time they knew they had to stay with the smurflings.

Toughette gasps when she sees Hefty lying motionless, out of commission. She glares at Asmoday and growls in anger. She will not stand aside while an evil deity harms her beloved ones…. this is totally unacceptable!

Twirling her staff over her head, Toughette again prepares her next attack. She lunges forward, bringing the staff down hard on Asmoday's arm before he could cause another gust of wind that would push her back again.

Asmoday feels the stinging pain, but recovers quickly. He plunges his good fist into the ground, creating an invisible force that knocks Toughette back. Asmoday takes this opportunity to back-hand Toughette in the face. He hits her with such force it sends her right into a tree, knocking her out cold.

The demon cackles triumphantly and prepares to give the final blow to finish the smurfette off.

"NO! I can't do this! I can't just stand here idly and watch that demon destroy our friends!" Brainette cries out, practically throwing Babette into Brainy's arms and leaving him to hold both babies as she rushes out toward the gloating monster.

"Brainette!" Brainy tries to stop her, but it is all in vain. Having his hands full he couldn't grab hold of her to prevent her from heading right into the danger.

"**Incolumitas tutela contego!**" Brainette shouts, jumping in between the motionless Toughette and the laughing Asmoday. Quickly, while still chanting the magical words, Brianette pulls out a small, wooden object from her pink skirt pocket. Opening it, she takes out the emblem shaped as a "T" from Mama Smurf's lab before they burnt down the Village. At once an invisible shield springs up and surrounds her and her fallen sister, protecting them both from the demon's attacks.

At first Asmoday is frozen, stunned that the smurfs would carry such magic. But soon he realizes that it is utterly futile. For the more he will attack, the weaker the spell would become until it will cease to exist. He grins once more and renewed his attacks.

"**Augeo tutela contego!**" Brainette again blurts out, realizing her invisible shield is starting to fail at an alarming rate.

As the demon predicted, the protective shield fails. This now leaves both smurfettes vulnerable to him. With a nasty chuckle, Asmoday creates a powerful gust of wind, knocking Brainette back and knocking her against the same tree Toughette had crashed into, leaving her unconscious.

Meanwhile, Hefty regains consciousness. Taking one look at what is happening to Toughette and Brainette, He quickly gets up with the staff in his hand and starts running furiously toward the demon. Before Asmoday could strike down on the smurfettes, ending their lives in a merciless way, Hefty jabs his staff down with all his strength onto the evil demon's foot.

Asmoday crows in agony. He is shocked that such a small creature managed to cause him so much pain. Now the demon begins to become angry…VERY angry. He is getting tired of 'playing around' with these blue insects!

"**_Enough of this!_**" He growled, eyes glowing pure red.

The boney demon raised his hand high above his head. With one swipe, he uses his sharp black claws to slice through Hefty's staff. The force of the hit happened so fast and hard that it caused the strong smurf to fall back on his tail. Hefty quickly gets back up, but before he could regain his balance Asmoday clasped both of his hands - quick as a lightning - around his little blue body.

Never had Hefty felt such intense pressure on him. He could hear his bones being crushed slowly as breathing becomes harder and harder to do. In utter desperation, Hefty lets out a yelp of pain.

"Brainy! We have to do something. This demon is going to smurf them!" Snappy says desperately, pointing at the horror in front of him.

"You're right," Brainy says grimly. The only thing running through his head is the fact he no longer wishes to lose another brother to this monster. He turns to the four smurflings.

"You smurflings stay here with the babies." The scholarly smurf tells them quietly, handing Babette and Baby Smurf to Nat and Slouchy.

"But Hefty said…" Slouchy starts to say, looking frightened.

"Slouchy, please! For once just listen to me!" Brainy orders. Before the smurflings can say another word Brainy turns away and takes off running bravely up to rescue Hefty. He pulls out the pouch he had grabbed from the cave, and pours some sparkling sand onto his hand.

"**Adflicto affligo prodigium!**" Brainy hollers as he throws the powdery substance at the demon.

And the spell takes effect almost instantly.

Asmoday roars in agony, dropping Hefty from his grasp in order to rub the sand out of his tearing eyes. Hefty lands with a hard thud and a grunt. Gasping, He struggles to regain his breathe as Brainy rushes up anxiously to him to see if he is ok. With flashing glowing red eyes, Asmoday recovers from Brainy's spell. Growling menacingly, he takes a step forward, towering over the two smurfs. Brainy looks up and reacts in pure reflex.

"**Noceo pello pepuli pulsum!**" Brainy's voice nearly cracks as he again cries out yet another spell, tossing more sandy powder at the demon. To his surprise the spell works even quickly. Asmoday vanishes in a puff of smoke and is gone. Brainy gawks momentarily at the empty spot where the demon had stood only a few seconds before, then takes this opportunity to kneel down next to Hefty.

"Are you ok?" The bespectacled smurf asks tentatively.

Hefty looks up to see his young brother. "Brainy?" He says, blinking and still barely being able to breath. Suddenly, he looks around frantically. "W-Where are the smurflings?"

"They're safe, trust me." Brainy assures him. "The demon is gone, but I have a feeling he may be back. We need to get the smurfettes and get out of here."

Hefty hesitates, then nodded. "Ok."

Hefty allows Brainy to help him from the ground. They scarcely take two steps when the creepy cackle echoes the meadow once more.

"You think you insects can be rid of me that easily?" Asmoday's voice thunders.

At this moment Brainette and Toughette start to regain consciousness. Hearing his voice, they sit up and frantically look up and around as do Hefty and Brainy when the demon's voice booms over their heads. _Where is he?_ They wonder apprehensively.

Meanwhile, the smurflings and the babies huddle together, frightened as what this fearsome creature might do next. Without warning, Asmoday reappears just behind them. The adult smurfs notice him right away, and their expression on their faces turns to a look of horror. The fierce creature of the underworld smirks at the older smurfs before disappearing again, taking the smurflings with him.

"**NOooo!**" The older smurfs shout in desperation. They scramble over to the spot where the smurflings used to be. But it is too late. Sassette, Nat, Slouchy, Snappy, and the babies are gone.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Part 2 of 'The Black Year' will be concluded shortly. I have been incredibly busy lately, but I have been able to do a little writing here and there. Remember I love to hear from you, so please leave your comments or even suggestions in a review. Thank you!

**Latin words:**

**adflicto affligo** : to injure, weaken, discourage, damage, break.

**augeo **: to increase, strengthen

**contego : **_to cover, shield, protect, defend. _

**incolumitas **: safety

**noceo **: do harm, inflict injury.

**pello pepuli pulsum** : to hit, beat / exile, drive away, banish

**prodigium** : monster, unnatural thing.

**tutela **: protection, guard.


	7. The Black Year, pt2

**Chapter 7: The Black Year, Part 2**

A sense of loss hangs over Hefty. He sits quietly and dejectedly in front of the cave while the others are inside trying hard to save Puppy's life. First Hefty loses his family, his home, and now he loses the smurflings - all in less than one year. He stares out into the unusually quiet forest. It is like every creature in the woods are in mourning over the falling of all the young smurfs. This makes Hefty wish that Mother Nature and Father Time could show up, cast their magic, and turn back time so that none of this would ever happen. But sadly that is not possible. The smurfs had already confronted them with their problem months ago when the ten of them first ventured away from the Old Village. The elder deities had explained that it is not possible to turn back time in order to stop the devastation that has occurred. However, it has not stopped Mother Nature and Father Time from expressing their grief and sharing the strong sense of guilt that they could not do anything about it.

The brooding smurf is so caught up in his thoughts that he barely noticed Brainy sitting down beside him. Ever since the disappearance of the smurflings a rift has come between the two brothers, bigger then it has ever been even during the lively days of the Old Village. Brainy looks apologetically at Hefty with sadness in his eyes. He just hopes that his strong brother would forgive him already. Ever since the day they confronted Asmoday two days ago; Hefty had barely said a single word to anyone, except Toughette. If only Brainy had done as he was told and stayed with the smurflings! Perhaps they would still be safe instead of the clutches of the evil demon, Asmoday. But that would mean leaving Hefty dying in Asmoday's bony hands. Brainy's heart felt like breaking at the thought that if he had stayed with the smurflings, Hefty would not be still here today. Was that kind of sacrifice worth it though? There is still a chance they can rescue the smurflings, one way or another. There has to be. Right now, though they have another problem on their hands. Brainy takes in a big gulp before he bravely started talking to Hefty.

"B-Brainette says that Puppy might not make it. The injuries he received from Asmoday were greater then any of us can compensate. He-" Brainy pauses for a moment in order to control his emotions a little better.

"He may not even last through the night." He finishes in a whisper with a few tears running down his face.

Again Brainy watches Hefty. Hefty shows no emotion to what he just heard, not even the slightest hint of surprise. The only thing the strong smurf does is turn his head further away from Brainy.

"Come on, Hefty!" Brainy finally spits out explosively, feeling very irritated with this silent treatment. "Just come out and say it, already. It's _my fault_! _My fault_ for losing the smurflings! T-That Puppy is about to pay the ultimate price for his attempts to protect them! Now he's about to die in vain over it. And what did I do? Abandoned my post, like an idiot! I'm sorry, ok!"

The smurfettes look quickly up when they heard Brainy's voice rise in frustration. Toughette instantly stands up and walks over to them. Brainette decides to get up as well.

Finally Hefty looks to Brainy, his eyes having so many emotions mingled together that it is hard to tell if he's grieving, or angry, or both. Brainy's heart skips a beat, thinking his strong brother might say something now. He is expecting him to say how everything he just said was right. Besides, it's always Brainy's fault whenever things go wrong, isn't it? Brainy holds his breath expecting Hefty to say just that. Anything is better then silence.

To Brainy's surprise Hefty doesn't say anything. Instead, he gets up and walks away from Brainy and the cave they had called home for the winter.

"Hefty? Hefty? Where are you going?" Brainy shouts to his brother. He starts to get up to follow his brother when a smurfette's hand stops him. Surprised, Brainy turns around and sees Toughette.

"I'll go talk to him." She says quietly before pursuing her boyfriend.

Brainy simply nods, knowing that it is pointless for him to talk to Hefty right now, as the tough smurf basically talks only to her anyway. With a heavy heart and tears in his eyes Brainy watches the golden blond smurfette running down the same path that Hefty took seconds before. Another touch on his shoulder causes Brainy to look around. Beside him stands Brainette. She attempts to give him a brave, supportive look. He appreciates her attempts and tries to smile back, but is overcame with his grief and could not say another word.

Hefty stops at a nearby creek. He bends down to see his own reflection. The smurf looking back up at him still bears some scratches and bruises from his fight with Asmoday. The biggest scar on his face is the one he got from when the Smurf Dam collapsed and swept him away to the Smurfette Village. He runs his finger over his left eyebrow where the bump can still be felt. This made him realize that the scar was the cause of Asmoday as well. And here he thought it was fate that brought him to Toughette and the other smurfettes.

He begins to rest his head into his hand, unsure if he has enough strength to hold it up anymore. Out of all the smurfs in the village, why does he have to be one out of the only ten survivors?

"It isn't Brainy that you are angry with, is it?" The familiar voice, like an angel, speaks up not far from his right side.

Hefty slowly looks up to meet Toughette's gaze. She is right. It isn't Brainy that he is angry with.

"Like me, you are probably blaming yourself for losing the smurflings. If only we had practiced harder, focused on our strengths, maybe, just maybe the smurflings will still be safe with us." Toughette goes on saying as she walks up to her troubled boyfriend.

Without saying a word, Hefty nods his head and turns back down to the running creek. He doesn't even look back up to Toughette when she places her hand on his shoulder.

"You know that we can never beat him, don't you?" She calmly tells him. "No matter how much we practice with our sparing, we will never be good enough, or strong enough to beat a demon."

"Then with that said there is only one thing to do when we finally confront Asmoday again." Hefty finally says, looking right into Toughette's eyes.

"You mean the ultimate sacrifice?" She almost sounds surprised as she says that.

"If it is the only way to get the smurflings back safely, we have no choice." Hefty nods his head.

"As long as we stay together we will be strong enough to go through with it." Toughette says, leaning her forehead up against his in an affectionate way.

"You know, out of everything Asmoday has caused to us and the rest of the smurfs and smurfettes, I am glad that he brought us together." The strong smurf sighed, letting a tear escape from his eye.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The next day happens to be the second hardest day the four remaining smurfs had to face. Hefty and Toughette had just finished scooping the final bit of dirt with their shovels over onto the large grave where the body of Puppy now lies. Brainy stands nearby with their furry friend's collar. The special collar is what Homnibus has placed on Puppy just before sending the little fella as a gift to the smurfs. It had surprised Brainy when the magical collar slipped off unexpectedly once Puppy's spirit left his body. The locket still does not open, only the chosen one can open it, but that is not important now. Today the smurfs have lost yet another dear friend. Now how will they get around in the world? Who will be there to help them get back the smurflings? At least with Puppy around the smurfs felt a little bit safer. Being only three apples high, and no village immersed in magic to protect them from enemies, the outside world can be a very dangerous place for a smurf. It is apparent now, more then ever, that they are vulnerable without a guard-puppy around.

All four smurfs shed a few tears over the death of their furry companion. But each of them knows they cannot take this time to grief too long. The smurflings are still in jeopardy. They have to rescue them at all costs. With a nod from each of the four smurfs to one another, they put away the shovels, along with Puppy's collar, into the cave with their treasures from the Old Village. Brainy and Brainette cast a protective spell, causing their treasures and other supplies to appear invisible to the naked eye. Yet the spell also ensures that nothing can harm or steal them in case any creature enters the cave. Thus done, the four smurfs leave the cave with only the few essentials in their backpacks. Hefty and Toughette make sure they do not leave without their staffs. (Hefty has a spare staff, since the first one was broken in a battle with Asmoday.) Chances are they will need them when they go up against Asmoday again. Neither of them are sure how, but they will somehow find Asmoday and demand that he return all of smurflings to them.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

For the past few days the smurfs wandered over the sloping land in hopes of finding some clue on the whereabouts of Asmoday. Never have these four been so serious, so determined on anything before, and without the helpful guide of their dear Papa Smurf either. This is just something that they have to do. Giving up is not an option. Indeed no. They just have to find the smurflings. That is the only thing that matters in life right now.

Their search has led them through a human village. Careful not to be spotted, the four smurfs decide to walk in the shadows as much as possible. As usual the Market in the main streets of this town is as busy, teeming with profiting merchants, shifty-eyed peddlers, and eager shoppers. This made staying out of sight harder. Lucky for the smurfs, however, is that every human knows nothing of their existence. The humans are more interested in what they are selling and buying to take notice of four little blue imps running from one shadowy corner to another shadowy corner.

As they pass one of the booths Brainette stops when one of the peddlers behind them makes a sales pitch that seems familiar.

"Diseases and Plagues! Get your books on Diseases and Plagues here! You have a neighbour that annoys you? Stole your cattle? Destroys your property? Why not curse him with a deadly disease? I've got everything you need right in this book!" A dirty looking man, half the size of a normal size man, was calling out into the crowd.

"Hang on, smurfs!" Brainette hollers to the others. Almost instantly Brainy, Toughette, and Hefty turn to face Brainette.

"There is something that this man said sounds familiar. I think we should go talk to him." The bespectacled smurfette says, jerking her thumb at the man.

"Ah, Brainette, maybe that is not such a good idea." Brainy tries to warn, but it is too late. Brainette is already at the man's feet. Brainy looks helplessly over the Hefty and Toughette. They both shrug their shoulders before following Brainette to the strange little man.

"Excuse me. Um, excuse me." Brainette is calling up and at the same time tugging at the man's brown cloak.

The man peers down at Brainette with a look of disgust.

"Go on, beat it you little imp. I'm not a charity center. There are no free hand outs here. I said beat it! Go ask for scraps elsewhere!" The hairy man says hoarsely, trying to shoo her away with his free hand before anyone would see him and thinks he is talking to himself.

"I'm not here to beg!" Brainette says crossly, stamping her foot on the ground. Obviously she is highly insulted for being accused of such an act. "I just wish to ask you about your book you are selling."

"Oh, well that's different. You wish to buy then?" The man asks hopefully.

"Um, no, just a question," Brainette answers in a slightly sheepish tone.

"I see," The man again gives the bespectacled smurfette, and the other three smurfs behind her, a snobbish look. "In that case, be gone, all of you! I'm a _very_ busy human and don't have time for the likes of you!"

"That's just it! I'm willing to bet you're not _even_ human. In fact, I am betting you are a demon, a demon named _Guland_!" Brainette says in a sharp clear voice and pointing to a book with his name on it. The book looks exactly like the one that Gargamel had in his home.

The hairy little man looks around the market to see if anyone is watching. Seeing nobody is looking, he grumbles to himself and jumps off the stool he is standing on. Obviously it is to give him the appearance that he is taller then he really is. In a puff of smoke the dirty little man turns into a dirty little demon with yellow eyes and sharp pointy ears and teeth.

"You are indeed a cleaver little blue imp, ain't ya," He says with a grin as he scratches his chin idly.

"We are smurfs, in case you are not aware." Brainy corrects the demon.

Guland raises one eyebrow and looks at the Smurfs intently. "Ah, so you are the little critters Asmoday's been obsessing over," He smirks, causing the blue-skinned survivors to look at him with interest

"You know Asmoday? Where is he? He has something that belongs to us!" Hefty demands.

"Yeah? Join the club," The short demon snorts. "He stole one of my diseases and plagues books, only for it to get destroyed in a fire!"

Toughette steps up. "So we have something in common. You will help us find him then?" She asks hopefully.

Guland shrugs. "Well, I can not really do anything physically you know, but I can draw out a map to his home for you. I do wish you luck; however, he can be a very sneaky demon indeed." He says, handing Brainy a piece of paper with instructions to find a cave up high in the mountains.

"Thank you," Brainy says politely, accepting the piece of paper. He and Brainette begin to lead the way with the map in their possession. But not before Guland suddenly spoke up.

"Oh, and also Asmoday loves to bargain. You give him an offer he likes, and he is obligated to stay true to it."

"Loves to bargain, eh?" Hefty thinks out loud. He then looks over at Toughette. They appear to be having the same thought. "We will remember that, thanks again," He adds before taking Toughette's hand and catching up with their scholarly siblings.

"Yeah whatever." The demon mutters as the four smurfs head out of sight. Looking around in every direction, Guland makes sure the coast is clear before he can transform himself back into a human form. Then he jumps back onto his stool, grabs one of his books, and holds it out just as a farmer man walks past.

"Hey, got an annoying neighbour that is stealing your stuff? Might I suggest cursing him with a disease?" He calls out hopefully to the farmer. The farmer gives him a strange look and walks quickly away.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"This looks like the place," Brainy assumes, seeing medium-size statues of Asmoday on either side of a cave entrance.

"I'm surprised that demon back in the market actually led us to the right place!" Toughette said, scratching her head in disbelief.

"He had no reason to lie to us, Toughette. To Guland stealing one of his books meant that he would do anything to extract his vengeance," Brainette explained.

"Right, speaking of which, let's get inside and pay our home wrecker a little visit," Hefty announces. He grabs hold of his staff that is resting between his backpack and his back. With a swift tug the staff is swung over his head and in front of him, ready for battle.

"I'm right beside you, love," Toughette says, grabbing her staff and joining Hefty in passing between the statues into the cave.

"Ah…wait…" Brainy is about to call out after them, but instantly stops once he realizes it would be pointless getting those two to listen to him when they are in this state.

"Come on. We better get in their too. They will need our help if they get into trouble," Brainette sighs, taking Brainy's arm and tugging him inside.

Hefty and Toughette walk through the tunnel until they reach an opening. Before entering, however, the two carefully scope out the scene before they deem it safe to step out into the area. Every corner has burning torches that light up the chamber. To one side of the chamber stand two more tall statues of Asmoday with a large stone throne between them. On the back rest of the stone throne there is writing carved onto it. It says "Asmoday" in calligraphy style.

"He-Hello?" Hefty calls out. He tries not to sound as nervous as he feels.

"Great. We come all this way to fight Asmoday, and he isn't even home!" Toughette says in a huff.

"Maybe this is a good thing. If we are lucky we can find the smurflings and get out of here without even confronting Asmoday today," Brainy says, still slightly timid, as he steps forward.

"Good idea. We can take this opportunity to regroup and come up with a more defensive strategy." Brainette adds to Brainy's suggestion. They both started heading toward the throne. Hefty and Toughette look at each before following their scholarly siblings.

"Interesting décor," Brainy comments with a look of disgust as he passes one of the grotesque statues beside the throne.

"Hmm," Hefty ponders as he too passes the same statue. How he wishes that he could just push it over and destroy everything else, leaving Asmoday as homeless as the smurfs are. That would serve the demon right!

Suddenly Brainette notices something and runs over to the darkened corner of the chamber. She glazes carefully into the shadows and hollers, "Hey, over here, I found something!"

Toughette quickly reaches up and grabs one of the low-hanging torches from the wall before rushing over to where Brainette is standing. Hefty and Brainy follow behind. As soon as the light hits the six objects that had caught Brainette's attention, all four smurfs gasp in shock.

What the adult smurfs are hoping when they find the smurflings is that the youngsters would be in a kind of a prison cell, completely alive and unharmed. Instead, they find the smurflings encased in some kind of semi-transparent crystal, their wide, unseeing eyes staring out at nothing in particular.

"No! What has that monster done!" Toughette cries out in anguish.

"Aren't they lovely?" A dark creepy voice speaks up suddenly from behind, "They are my trophies after I officially dispose of you worthless creatures!"

All four smurfs spin around and face the owner of the voice. Hefty and Toughette instantly get into a defensive stance with their staff held up, ready to fight. The demon had just materialized out of nowhere and is standing in the opening of the tunnel, grinning from ear to ear.

"You know, I'm actually really glad you little bugs decided to come here and be destroyed," Asmoday says in a cocky tone, "I really was not interested in going back out there to find you again to finish what I have started."

He saunters over to his throne and sits down to peer with some admiration at the smurfs before he decides to kills them. Each of the adult survivors has a serious and focused look on their face. They appear to be ready for anything Asmoday choose to throw at them. Or would it be that they are preparing to throw the first punch in this situation?

"What is he waiting for?" Brainy whispers to the others. Brainette is the only one to respond by shrugging her shoulders to him as if to say 'I don't know'. Hefty and Toughette says nothing, refusing to remove their eyes from Asmoday even for a second.

"Right, I suppose we should get this over with then. I do have a lunch date with the sea hags off the English Coast after all," Asmoday says carelessly, about ready to get up from his throne.

"Wait!" Hefty suddenly cries out, holding up one hand to forestall the demon.

Everyone is stunned with Hefty's sudden action, including Asmoday. The only one that stays calm is Toughette, even though she is showing some signs of nervousness.

Hefty lowered his staff. "We don't wish to fight with you!" He declares, still staring steadily at the demon.

"We don't?" Brainy is shocked, even though that is what he is hoping, too…he doesn't wish to fight, either!

"You don't?" Asmoday appears puzzled with this strange turn of events. He is not sure if he should be impressed with the little blue bugs' boldness or not.

"No, we wish to bargain with you." Toughette says, stepping forward and lowering her staff as well.

"B-B-B-Bargain?" Brainy is barely able to get the word out, suddenly feeling thoroughly uncomfortable and totally uncertain at what it is all about.

Brainette is just as stunned, too. "Bargain? No, Toughette, bargaining with demons are bad! I beg you to step down from this idea!" She pleads with her sister.

"We know what we are doing, Brainette!" Toughette snaps at her before turning her attention back to Asmoday.

"I agree with Brainette. Hefty please!" Brainy said, practically in tears.

"Just let us do what we have to do, Brainy," Hefty calmly replies without turning around to meet his brother's pleading gaze.

"So what is this bargain you are purposing to me, and how will it benefit me?" Asmoday demands, totally puzzled but thoroughly intrigued by now.

"We suggest you release the smurflings, and in their place we offer you…" Hefty pauses to look over at his beloved mate, Toughette. The two of them can read the fear in each other's eyes, but they know there is no chance of them backing down now. This is the reason why they have come here. This is the only chance for the survival of the others. With a gulp, Hefty returns his attention back to Asmoday.

"…We offer you myself and Toughette." He finishes, trying to hide the quivering sound in his voice.

"You two offer yourselves in place of the smurflings, my trophies? Hmm…" Asmoday takes a moment to think it over.

"That is not all!" Toughette quickly speaks up again. "You have to leave the smurfs alone to let them live on. Otherwise we don't have a deal."

Again Asmoday pauses to think. He watches the two brave smurfs that are willing to sacrifice themselves for a handful of miniature blue bugs. Truly, it is a priceless offer. Asmoday can tell the smurfs are without their protective canine companion, and now they will be without their strong defenders. All that will be left are the two weak smurfs standing behind them, and the smurflings. How long will the rest of them survive on their own anyway?

With a wide grin full of sharp teeth and red eyes glowing with dark glee, he answers in a low growling voice, "Deal."

The word spoken through Asmoday's teeth ripples through the smurfs' bodies, sending chills down their spines.

"Hefty, Toughette! Have you two gone _crazy_?" Brainy shouts at them in desperation as he spins them around to face him and Brainette.

Hefty looks deeply into Brainy's eyes and says, "No matter what happens, Brainy, always protect the smurflings. They're the ones that matter the most."

"B-B-But…"

"This is the only way, Brainy. Sacrificing ourselves will ensure that you all are going to be safe from Asmoday." The strong smurf explains, giving his staff over to his bookish brother.

"You don't understand. We can't survive without you two!" Brainy cries, beginning to break into heavy sobs.

"Yes you can. Have a little faith," Hefty replies trying not to cry himself. He places his hand on Brainy's shoulder in a gesture of brotherly reassurance.

"No, we lost so many loved ones already this year. We don't want to lose you two as well!" Brainette says tearfully.

"We will always be with you, Brainette. Stay strong, ok." Toughette softy tells her bespectacled sister. At the same time she thrusts her staff into Brainette's hands.

Brainette is so shocked that she is unable to think of the words she wants to tell her tough sister. She just stands there with her mouth hanging open and tears running freely down her face.

"Sentimental goodbyes are really pointless," Asmoday groans, rolling up his eyes, "I accept your bargain, and I am obligated to fulfill my end, but you must fulfill your end first!"

Asmoday stands up from his throne and release a strange, dark energy from his finger tips aiming right at the strong duo. Before Hefty and Toughette has a chance to react, a sharp pain strikes them in the back. The pain only lasts a moment before their bodies become totally numb. Darkness fills them. They could sense absolutely nothing else. The only thing they hear is total silence. Nothing surrounds them now….just an empty void…..

**OoOoOoOoOoOo**

_ Present Time _

"Oh no," Brainette comes to a sudden stop and stares down at her tracking machine in disbelief.

"What is it?" Snappy asks anxiously.

"I don't believe it. They are in the museum!" The elderly, bespectacled smurfette says, looking up from the tracker.

"Of all the places in our little community here they pick that place to hide?" Sassette cries out in surprise.

"Well if you really think about it, it does make sense," Elder Brainy determines thoughtfully, "The museum would be the closest thing that brings them back home, so to speak."

"Guess it does make sense if you do think about it," Nat nods in agreement.

"Ok, now we know where they are, let's go get them," Sorcerer cheers as he walks up ahead of the others.

"Hold up there, Sorcerer!" Brainy announces to the hyper young smurf, "You remember how they acted with us in the medical lab, and again in the living room. There could be still a chance their memories have not yet returned. Hefty and Toughette might still try to run away. We have to be very cautious when we enter the museum."

"I feel it is our fault that they have ran off on us," Sorcerette pouts, looking down dejectedly.

"Hey, you didn't know. You and Sorcerer got them here safely, and that is what matters most," Slouchy says softly. He places a reassuring hand on the young smurfette's shoulder. Sorcerette nods once and seems to feel better.

"Let's get there soon before they go on the move again," Brainette orders checking her tracker as it beeps again.

The sound of the magical door opens, but Hefty and Toughette, with their backs toward it, don't need to be psychic to know that their older siblings have found them. Hefty wraps his arms tighter around Toughette as she snuggles closer to his chest. Neither of them wishes to look back at them just yet.

"Hefty? Toughette?" Brainy cautiously makes his way up behind his brother. "Now before you two decide to run off again I just want you to hear me out. Please accept my humble apology for what has happened to you throughout this whole day and…"

"It's ok, Brainy. We now remember what happened to us." Hefty calmly says, cutting his brother off. The strong smurf still doesn't turn to face him just yet.

"Y-you do?" The scholarly old smurf is a little surprised, even though a part of him suspected it is possible that these two had regained their memories.

"We remember what happened to the Old Village, our encounters with Asmoday, and why we had awoken in his dark, spooky cave," Toughette explains with a few tears running down her face.

Brainy and Sassette walk up to the strong duo, glad that they had found them. Sassette smiles warmly at Toughette in hopes that would help her feel more welcomed in this new timeline she is in. Toughette carefully steps away from the safety of Hefty's arms, and reaches to gently touch Sassette's much older face. Still in disbelief, Toughette shakes her head with a tentative smile on her face. Deciding to accept this new Sassette the way she is now, the strong smurfette gives her a hug.

Hefty on the other hand pauses as he just looks at his now much older brother. It is obvious that he is struggling to accept the age difference between them, too. Finally Hefty lets out a sigh before resting his strong hand onto Brainy's shoulder.

"This is definitely something to get use to," He says with a wry chuckle.

"Tell me about it," Brainy answers with a smirk.

Brainette realizes she still has the tracker in her hands. She had turned it off the moment they entered the museum, so it wouldn't scare Hefty and Toughette with its annoying beeping noise. All the same, she takes it and puts it in the inner pocket of her pink jacket so the tough duo won't notice it. Thus done, Brainette then turns to the other smurfs beside her.

"Why don't the rest of you go attend to other matters, you know, the kind that should not be _unattended_ _for too long_…?" She tells them in a 'you-know-my-meaning' way.

"But what about Hefty and Toughette?" Sorcerer asks with some concern.

"Don't worry, Brainy and I will look after them. In the morning we will get them cleaned up and changed before showing them around their new home." Brainette explains soothingly. "Sassette, they could use your help." She adds looking over to the elderly smurfette in braided pigtails.

"Alright. See you two in the morning." Sassette politely waves to Hefty and Toughette before exiting the museum with the other three elders and Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf in tow.

Hefty and Toughette look baffled as they watch the others leave. Now it is just them and their very much older siblings, Brainy and Brainette.

"You two ready to come with us, so we can get you something to eat?" Brainette offers tentatively.

"Ok…but before we go anywhere else I just have one question," Toughette says, holding up her hands to Brainy and Brainette.

"I'm sure you will have many questions for us…not just one!" Brainy points out with a little chuckle.

"What is it, Toughette?" Brainette asks in a soft, supportive tone.

The golden blond smurfette takes a deep breath. "How the _smurf _did you guys find us so quickly?" She exclaims.

Brainy and Brainette couldn't help but to look at each other with a smirk on their faces. "With this," Brainette answers as she reaches behind the back of Toughette's neck and pulls out a tiny black round object no bigger then a smurfberry.

"A bug?" Toughette gasps, confused on how such a small little object could help give away her and Hefty's location.

"That's one way of calling it." Brainy tries not to laugh, but fails.

"It's called a tracer, Toughette. It sends signals to this thing, which is called a tracker." Brainette says, holding up the hand-held computerized device from her inner pocket. "This is how we found you so easily."

"Ok, so how did that thing get on me on the first place?" Toughette asked, scratching the back of her neck where her elder sister took the tracer off and eying the device distrustfully.

"I managed to slip it on you when you passed out in the Medical Lab, before Hefty pushed me away." Brainette explains patiently.

Hefty frowns and decides to place his arms around Toughette again before anything else could be 'slipped on' her. "I see, don't suppose there are other surprises you wish to share with us?" He says gruffly, giving the elders a suspicious glare.

"In due time, Hefty." Brainy says, holding up his hand to pacify them. "There is much you will learn of this new world. In the meantime, we should get some real food in you before you will want to rest up for the evening. Follow us, please."

"Jeez, why are you still trying to get us to believe that we need rest?" Hefty gripes in an irritated fashion. "I'm not that tired. What about you Toughette?"

"No, not tired, just an upset tummy." Toughette answers, rubbing her tender stomach.

"Right, let's take you to our room," Brainette says, "There we will have more privacy, and we can answer more questions you two may have." She motions the young strong duo to follow her and Brainy out of the museum.

Hefty and Toughette look at each other in a confused manner, unsure whether to follow Brainy and Brainette or not. But these two are still their siblings. Chances are they will be safer with them rather then trying to tough it out by themselves in an unfamiliar, bewildering world out there in the present time. Together the four smurfs leave the museum and before heading down the same tunnels where they came from, Brainy turns to make sure the doors to the museum are officially locked. Once he is certain that their treasures are safely secure, Brainy hobbles along with his cane to catch up to the others.


	8. Family Reunite

**NOTE TO MY READERS: The reason for my delay is that my husband had passed away on November 27, 2005. That evening I came home and found him dead on the couch. For those that know me and remember me telling of my husband's illness with diabetes and renal failer (meaning he had to go to dialysis three times a week). He suffered a sugar crash that evening and by the time I came home he had already passed away. **

**I have been going through emotional, mental, and physical stress during these past few weeks. My beta-reader Tabby Tadavi has been a great support in continuing to beta-read my story for me during my time of grieving. **

**Slowly, I am getting my life back on track, and dealing with the legal matters of my husband's passing. In between work and taking care of the legal part of life I will continue with this story on a regular base. In the meantime, please enjoy this story, and the up dated pictures for this story on my website (link is on my profile).**

**Thank you,**

**Raven Child.**

**Chapter 8: Family Reunion **

"If you would just give us a moment, Brainette and I will whip up something nutritious to eat for the both of you," Brainy says, glancing at Hefty and Toughette as he opens the door to another room.

This room they are entering is much like the other room, for in the front of the Smurfs is a long, comfy chair-like object layered with soft cushions on top. Standing in front of it is a wide table with short legs. Across the room are two cozy chairs, also layered with downy cushions. On the walls are more strange carvings of animals like those ones from the other room where the big, strange box with the trapped noisy demons are. (To the relief of Hefty and Toughette, this room does not include the huge, flat box-like thing that had frightened them in the other room!) Up against one wall is a shelf filled with many books, of course – both ancient and relatively new. Off to the right is a small kitchen and a dinette, and behind it is another room that looks a bit like Papa Smurf's laboratory with several rows of beakers and test tubes filled with multi-coloured chemicals on the high table, but arranged in a futuristic way. On the left is a short hallway that leads into yet another room with the door closed. And Hefty and Toughette notice, with some puzzlement, a smaller box in the corner on the table near the entrance of the laboratory, which has strange, realistic aquarium of fish moving forth and back on its screen.

Both Hefty and Toughette look at each other, full of uncertainty and a bit dismay. Will they ever get use to all of this strangeness of a new world they are now inhabiting?

"Ok, over there is our kitchen, and just past it is Brainette's science lab," Brainy is saying proudly, giving the strong duo a small tour of their residence, "And over here is our library - actually, there is a bigger one down the hall if you want to check it out. This is just our personal collection. Down that hallway over there is our bedroom, and right in front of us is our living room. Oh, and," Brainy points in one particular direction, "that glass door you see just past our couch is called a veranda, another word for patio. Sometimes, when it is sunny outside, Brainette and I like to sit outside and enjoy the sounds of nature. It's far better than watching TV, in my opinion!"

"I see," Toughette says, blinking a little. She still appears confused and unsure of everything.

"Well, what do you think of our little corner of this community?" Brainette asks eagerly, with a hint of pride at how it appears to their siblings.

"Community?" Hefty raises his eyebrow and looks at the elderly smurfette and smurf.

"Yes, that is what we call our home," Brainy nods agreeably, "Unfortunately, due to the lack of space in this cave we have arranged that you would share quarters with Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf. Is that ok with you two?" He adds in an almost hesitant way.

"Share the quarters with Sorcerette and Sorcerer?" Hefty exclaims with a furrowed brow. He and Toughette exchange glances before looking back at Brainy and Brainette who are watching them nervously.

"Uh, sure, I guess." Toughette shrugs, even though she does not seem too happy at the prospect of loss of privacy if they are to share the room with those kids. Neither does Hefty, apparently, but he does not say anything.

"But we assure you this arrangement will all be temporary," Brainette says with a relieved smile since neither of the young siblings protested, "We are planning on expanding soon. There is a nice big piece of land very close to this cave that would be perfect for a brand new village, slash, community." She points towards the glass veranda door.

"Hey, that reminds me," Hefty speaks up suddenly, "Where did Snappy and the others go when we were in that, um, museum as you called it?" He gives the elders a suspicious glance. "Brainette said something about them needing to do something somewhere else."

Brainy and Brainette suddenly appear hesitant to answer Hefty. They look to each other for quite a while before returning their gaze to their younger strong siblings. Hefty and Toughette wait impatiently for them to explain themselves.

"Um, we should begin preparations on some food for you two." Brainette quickly changes the subject as she walks towards their small kitchen.

Hefty and Toughette didn't have to be geniuses to figure out that Brainy and Brainette were trying to dodge the question. It only serves to annoy them even more.

"Hey! What the smurf is going on here? You two said you would answer any of our questions, so why are you trying to keep secrets?" Hefty cries, waving his hands in the air in frustration.

Brainy sighs. "We said that indeed, Hefty, but not all at once – and certainly not right now. There is a lot to take in. So much changes happening over the years. We want to help you to accept and adjust to the new world you will be seeing every day for the rest of your lives," He says patiently, trying to steer his brother and his mate towards the living room.

"You mean besides you being 500 years older then me?" The strong smurf retorts, crossing his arms in a huff.

"Yes. I suppose that would be one of them," Brainy says in gruff tone. He hates being reminded that he is so much older then he once was.

Hefty frowns. "Ok, fine! If you are not going to explain anything about this new world to us right now, then at least tell us what had happened after Asmoday took me and Toughette captive in those crystals?" He finally demands.

Brainy looks reluctant. "Are you sure you want to know _that_ right now?" He asks quietly.

"Look Brainy," Toughette growls, just as frustrated as Hefty is, "we remember that as we left the cave with Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf that they admitted being trapped in those crystals like us for some time too. That would explain why they only appear to be a hundred and fifty-seven years old, just like us!"

"You noticed that, I see," Brainette comments matter-of-factly as she takes a big knife out of the drawer and started cutting slices from a loaf of freshly baked bread, to make sandwiches.

"It doesn't take a math genus to figure that one out, _Brainette_!" The tough smurfette barks angrily at her bespectacled sister, who flinches visibly at the harsh tone of her voice.

"Brainy, come on please," Hefty turns to his intelligent brother, "Tell us. Did Asmoday keep his part of the bargain and free all the smurflings after taking me and Toughette as his replacement…_trophies_, as he disgustingly put it?"

As Hefty glances into Brainy's eyes, he could see sadness in them. It reminds him of the last time when Brainy tried to talk to him while Hefty was despondent over the kidnapping of the Smurflings. It makes him wonder. What is Brainy so afraid of? Why won't he just talk? A part of Hefty wants to know what happened after he and Toughette were put in a state of suspended animation…but the other part wants to hold back, suddenly unsure if he _really_ want to know after all.

Brainy sighs deeply and hobbles over to take a seat in one of two soft armchairs across from the couch and coffee table. As he did so he takes a deep breath. "You and Toughette better sit down, Hefty. It's going to be a long story," He finally says, gesturing invitingly toward the couch for the young duo to take a seat as well

"Oh, good. We _love_ long stories." Toughette grumbles with sarcasm as she and her beloved mate sat down.

As soon as she sees Hefty and Toughette had made themselves comfortable on the couch, Brainette comes out of the kitchen and places a tray laden with food on the coffee table in front of them. Being a polite hostess, Brainette hands the strong duo each a plate with a sandwich and fresh vegetables on it.

Hefty and Toughette look distrustfully at the food offered to them. "How do we know they won't give us indigestion?" Hefty says, remembering the horrible airplane snacks they had eaten not too long ago.

"These are purely organic food," Brainette answers reassuringly; "We have a garden out there where we grow and harvest our own vegetables. We also pick fruits from our orchards…apples, peaches, and so forth. We even grow our own smurfberries, too. And we bake everything else from a scratch…all of them are perfectly fit for a smurf to eat!"

"Ah, smurfberries," Brainy says approvingly, "Nat had the good sense to save the seeds and bring them all the way over here so we can have smurfberries anytime we want. That way, we will always have a bit of Old Village with us!"

"Here, eat up. I made some tea…" The elderly smurfette encourages with a smile as she picks up the teapot and pours hot, greenish liquid into four separate cups. Toughette stares transfixed at it. "What is that?" She questions, recoiling a bit.

"It's called Jasmine Green Tea, imported from Japan," Brainette answers with another smile, "Different from what Mama Smurf used to make, but it has a very good flavour indeed. Good for your stomach, too!" She adds, placing two tea-filled cups in front of Hefty and Toughette before taking the other two for Brainy and herself. As she reaches the chair next to Brainy and settles into it, Brainette hands him a cup as well.

"Alright," Brainy takes in another deep breath. Hefty and Toughette lean forward, ready to listen intently. The elderly smurf begins to speak in a quiet voice, "This is what happened…"


	9. To Take Back, pt1

**Here are the next two chapters as promised. Also there are new art pictures based on this story now posted on my website. The link is located on my profile…enjoy!**

**Chapter 9: To Taking Back, Part 1 **

_ Flashback _

**1504 – HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS OF EUROPE**

"Hefty, Toughette! Have you two gone _crazy_?" Brainy shouts at them in desperation as he spins them around to face him and Brainette. _How could Hefty and Toughette make such a bargain with a demon? If Papa Smurf were here, he'd surely disapprove of this decision. _

Hefty looks deeply into Brainy's eyes and says, "No matter what happens, Brainy, always protect the smurflings. They're the ones that matter the most."

"B-B-But…" _Protect the smurflings? How?_

"This is the only way, Brainy. Sacrificing ourselves will ensure that you all are going to be safe from Asmoday." The strong smurf explains, giving his staff over to his bookish brother.

"You don't understand. We can't survive without you two!" Brainy cries, beginning to break into heavy sobs.

"Yes you can. Have a little faith," Hefty replies trying not to cry himself. He places his hand on Brainy's shoulder in a gesture of brotherly reassurance.

"No, we lost so many loved ones already this year. We don't want to lose you two as well!" Brainette says tearfully.

"We will always be with you, Brainette. Stay strong, ok?" Toughette softy tells her bespectacled sister. At the same time she thrusts her staff into Brainette's hands.

Brainette is so shocked that she is unable to think of the words she wants to tell her tough sister. She just stands there with her mouth hanging open and tears running freely down her face. _Stay strong? That is not possible. Not when you are still in grieving!_

"Sentimental goodbyes are really pointless," Asmoday groans, rolling up his eyes, "I accept your bargain, and I am obligated to fulfill my end, but you must fulfill your end first!"

Asmoday stands up from his throne and release a strange, dark energy from his finger tips aiming right at the strong duo. Before Hefty and Toughette has a chance to react, a sharp pain strikes them in the back. The pain only lasts a moment before their bodies become totally numb. Darkness fills them. They could sense absolutely nothing else. The only thing they hear is total silence. Nothing surrounds them now….just an empty void…..

Brainy and Brainette watch in horror as the crystals come out of the ground and rapidly cover the bodies of their siblings until they are incased in dark, unbreakable semi-transparent mass. Unlike the petrified, frightened look on the faces of smurflings still trapped in their crystallized forms, Hefty and Toughette appear to be sleeping peacefully.

"Hefty…?" Brainy is not sure if all of this could be real. He reaches up to touch his brother's face, but feels the hard, smooth surface of the crystal that keeps Hefty prisoner instead.

Brainette reaches for her sister too, and like Brainy, she finds that she can only feel the crystal. The intelligent smurfette never felt so alone before. She always felt distant from all of her other sisters back in the Old Smurfette Village, but now, she really is alone, and it scares her.

"I suppose I should fulfill my end of the bargain now." Asmoday sighs loudly, with a hint of regret.

He aims his bony finger towards the smurflings. The same dark energy shoots out from this finger to four crystallized smurflings. An eerie wind blows inside the cave, and in no time the smaller crystals begin to melt away, freeing the smurflings from within. They begin to move, stretching their limbs as though they had just woke up. Their faces gradually turn from the expression of petrified terror to that of a confused, perplexed look as they glance around their surroundings, not understanding how they got here.

"Smurflings!" Brainy and Brainette cry out as they rush toward the bewildered youngsters, dropping their siblings' staffs and reaching out toward them.

"Brainy? Brainette? What's going on?" Nat says in a whimper.

"Yeah. Where are we?" Slouchy asks, looking totally baffled.

"I-It's ok now, smurflings. We will be getting out of here soon." Brainette whispers into their ears in a shaky tone as she gathers Nat and Slouchy into her arms and hugs them tightly.

"Brainy? How did we get here?" Snappy asks, as Brainy pulls him and Sassette in close for a hug.

"Are you ok?" Sassette asks, realizing the older smurf is shaking.

"I don't know." Brainy answers with more honesty then he could ever know.

"You have what you bargained for; you putrid worms now leave!" Asmoday growled pointing to the exit of his cave.

"Wait! You didn't free all the smurflings yet. There are still the babies!" Brainette cries out. She points toward the Babette and Baby Smurf in the corner, still frozen within the dark crystals.

Brainy is outraged. "Hey, what's going on here? The bargain was that you would free the smurflings!" He spat angrily. He quickly releases Sassette and Snappy, runs over to where Hefty's staff is and grabs it. Suddenly feeling a rush of braveness in him, he makes a stance in front of Asmoday to indict that he is ready to fight if necessary.

"I did free the smurflings. I may be a demon, but I keep to my word." Asmoday calmly replies, with no effect to Brainy's action.

"No you didn't free all of them. You didn't free the babies!" Brainette shouted, just as angry. She too rushes to pick up the staff her sister gave her and takes a stand beside Brainy, looking as bravely as she can.

A broad cocky smile forms on Asmoday's tight face.

"Your fellow smurfs said nothing about baby smurfs being apart of the bargain." The demon tells them with an evil chuckle.

Brainette flinches and Brainy groans inwardly._ This is why smurfs should never make bargains with demons_, Brainy muses to himself, wishing he could have warned Hefty about this before his brother is trapped in a state of suspended animation.

"Bargain?" Sassette whispers to other smurflings. None of this seemed to make sense to any of the youngsters, until Nat, with a stunned look on his youthful face, points silently in a particular direction. That is when they really began to notice, with tremendous shock, Hefty, Toughette, and the babies trapped inside some kind of crystal form. "Oh, no! What happened to them?" Sassette gasps in horror.

"That's not fair!" Brainy is shouting, still wielding the staff, "The babies are smurflings, too!"

"NOT IN MY WORLD! Now leave, while I'm still in the mood to obligate my end of the bargain!" Asmoday bellows.

"What happened, Brainy?" Snappy finally speaks up, "Why are Hefty, Toughette, and the babies in some kind of crystal?" He looks at Asmoday, "And who is this ugly guy?"

"They made a bargain with me, you little bug," Asmoday says coldly, "In exchange for your freedom, they sacrificed themselves to be in your place. And as for the fact you are having difficulties remembering me or the reason why you are here in my home," he sneers, "well, let's just say the effects are only temporary. All of your recent memories before I imprisoned you in my crystals will return. Now _leave_! Your very presence sickens me!" Asmoday points his finger straight in the direction of the exit.

Brainy and Brainette look at each other and have to acknowledge that they do not have the capability to fight the demon by themselves. Very reluctantly they back away from Asmoday, take the youngsters by hands and head out of the cave. The intellectual smurf and smurfette feel almost empty inside, like they are leaving piece of themselves in the cave.

"Brainy? Brainette? Where is Puppy?" Nat breaks the long silence as they all walk down the hill.

The adult Smurfs freeze, unable to say anything. Tears instantly swell up as they remember watching Puppy take his one last breath. How are they going to explain this to the smurflings? Even if their memories have somewhat been affected after being trapped in the crystals, they still know that Puppy was still alive.

"Come on Smurflings. It's a _long _walk back to the cave." Brainy said with a quiet sigh, not wishing to even look at them in the eye.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Each of the four smurflings could do nothing but kneel and cry heartbrokenly at the grave site of where Puppy now lies. Just like Asmoday said, they are now beginning to remember the first time they met the evil demon and what he did to Puppy. Nothing seems real anymore. Puppy's gone. Hefty and Toughette, along with the babies, are in the hands of Asmoday. And that leaves just the smurflings and Brainy and Brainette …alone and homeless.

Brainy sits by himself on the same rock Hefty once sat the other day when his brother told him of Puppy's tragic condition. The bespectacled smurf stared blankly at nothing in particular on the ground. His mind raced with images of what happened over the last few days. He appeared on the verge of crying again, but this time it seems he wants to hold back the tears. The words - "_Always protect the smurflings. They're the ones that matter the most" -_ keep ringing in his ears. Brainy will never forget the look he saw in Hefty's eyes. It seemed the strong smurf was afraid. Afraid of what though? Afraid that he couldn't protect them? _Protect the smurflings. _Brainy pondered over that phrase. What could he possibly do to be as strong as his brother?

"If it makes you feel any better, Puppy went peacefully in his sleep." Brainette tells the grieving smurflings, trying to be as reassuring as she could under the circumstances.

Sadly her words did not bring much comfort to the smurflings. More tears fall ever faster.

"What are we going to do now?" Nat chokes, wiping his tears and looking back to Brainette and Brainy sitting a few yards from them.

Before Brainette could think of anything to say, Brainy lifts his head and stands up.

"We are going to survive. We are going to also find a way to get Hefty, Toughette, and the babies back to us. _That _is what we are going to do!" He says in a tone of seriousness that none of the other smurfs ever heard before.

"How do you purpose we do that?" Brainette squeaks, "We are only three apples high! How are we supposed to go up against a demon in order to get our friends and the babies back? Not only that, if we do try freeing our friends and the babies, the demon would surely become offended and give him a reason to attack us again!"

"We'll do what ever it takes, Brainette," Brainy says firmly, "A smurf has to have a reason for living. Back in the Old Village the mission of life was clear. Help maintain order and organize a peaceful way to exist comfortably with the other smurfs and our neighbors in our vicinity. Now we are out here in the world, totally defenseless.

We have no permanent home to fall back on if trouble should come at us. We have to learn to defend ourselves. We have to start using our brains to come up with solutions to our dilemmas!"

Brainy pauses for a moment before looking around at the others. "Before I used to depend on Papa Smurf to come up with a plan, but that is not possible now," he says grimly, "We have to start growing up, and depending on each other. And right now, in order to get Hefty, Toughette, and the babies back with us, we need to find any books that would have vital information on demons, especially Asmoday. We must discover his weaknesses and any magic spells, as well as any emblems that would help get rid of him and free our friends and the babies! I don't care how long it will take us, but I guarantee they will be returned to us!" Brainy says with a sense of finality, slamming his fist into his other hand for emphasis.

Brainette and the smurflings stare at him. This is certainly a new side to Brainy; even he feels the change in himself. For a moment there is nothing but silence between the six remaining smurfs.

"I'm with you, Brainy," Brainette finally concurs, nodding her head in assent.

"Us too," Sassette declares with a nod as well. The other smurflings likewise nod in silent agreement along with her.

"So what's our first step?" The bespectacled smurfette asks.

"The plan may sound simpler then it really is, Brainette. What we will do…we will travel from town to town, collecting any information in books on Asmoday!" Brainy announces seriously.

The others look to each other before accepting the plan.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Many years go by with little success in their search for the kind of information they need. The six of them travel from country to country, town to town and visited every library they could find. Their journey had them going through Ireland, Scotland, France, Spain, Italy, Romania, and Greece. Surprisingly the search even took them through Russia, and parts of China. Now and then, with Nat's special talents, the smurfs were able to acquire help from certain animals which were willing give them rides to where they wanted to go, enabling them to cover great distances. But most of time the smurfs simply walked to each destination where their research guided them.

They managed to locate a few books on the demon, but they only mention his name, his evil deeds, and especially on how to summon him. Such information was not needed for the smurfs - they wanted to get rid of him, not bring him to them! Regardless of their slowly growing desperation, the smurfs would return to the cave every year just so they could make sure their treasures are still intact and safely concealed from prying eyes, and to settle down during the winter months.

As more years went by, a total of 140 years to be exact, the smurflings no longer were smurflings but young adult smurfs. The four of them still practiced the defensive techniques that Hefty and Toughette had taught them right up to the day they first encountered Asmoday. And over the time each of the smurfs had changed their wardrobe slightly, although, their style are similar to the clothes they once wore. Soft sole shoes are added to their wardrobe due to the fact it makes it a lot easier and more comfortable to travel while wearing them. It was a shoemaker in Russia whom they had befriended, who had gifted them with the shoes to help them cope with their long, rough journey, especially in the coldness of winter. At first it was a strange feeling to have something solid around their feet, but eventually it had become quite comfortable indeed. They will never need to suffer sore feet anymore again!

Sassette still wears the color pink in her usual tom-smurf fashion. She traded her white smurf cap, however, with a pink one to match Brainette to signify she is growing up. Nat, of course, continues to keep his yellow straw hat (similar to the one he used to wear as a youngster), but he now wears different kind of his brown outfit. And he is now wearing shoes, too, something he hasn't really thought of wearing before way back when he was used to walking barefoot as a smurfling. Besides his training in defense, Nat is studying to be a medic. Being a compassionate Smurf, he always had a huge knack for caring for any injured creature. Snappy still wears a yellow shirt, but having since worn out his typical smurf pants due to long journeys, he now wears a yellowish-brown pair of more sturdy fabric and black shoes. Snappy also is intensely focuses in studying defense methods with Sassette. And Slouchy is wearing his favorite red shirt, similar to one he wore as a child, plus he wears brown pants and black, if slightly scruffy, shoes. He still wears a "slouching" white cap. Unlike his peer, he is of a more gentle nature and prefers to help with assisting Brainy and Brainette in researching information on Asmoday, rather than practicing combative methods.

Brainette wears her usual pink hat as before and her pink blouse too, but now wears a longer skirt with a light pink jacket. And, she is now putting her hair up in a single bun instead of the usual two pigtails. Brainy has started growing a reddish-brown mustache and beard. It seems similar to Papa Smurf's when he was younger, only more reddish and it not does cover half Brainy's face like it did on Papa Smurf. He still wears a white cap, but he had taken to wearing a red jacket, red pants and a white shirt.

Another 20 years pass, but this time something good comes their way. The year is now 1664, the smurfs just happened to have stopped in a field where smurfberries are growing. Even though their mission is very important to rescue their friends and the babies, a smurf must eat in order to keep up their strength. Being that smurfberries are their main diet, they need to pick as many as they can that would be enough for their meals in the next few days. Also they pick enough that they can dry out and carry with them and eat throughout their journey, plus a bunch for the winter storage.

As the smurfs pick away at the bushes, a young human male in his mid 20's walks along a path across the meadow. He notices the six smurfs picking smurfberries and immediately stops to gawk. The young man had walked down this path for many years, but this is the first time he has ever seen a single, live smurf.

"Whoa, smurfs!" The young lad declares, not realizing that his voice is loud enough that sharp-eared smurfs heard him.

The six smurfs nearly jump out of their skin. Thinking out of pure instinct, the smurfs bolt for the woods for cover.

"Wait! Stop! Please don't run!" The man cries out to them, thinking desperately in order to get a chance to talk to them. "I know Homnibus!"

The familiar name brings all six smurfs to a screeching halt, and they turn to the young man in disbelief.

"How could you have known Homnibus? He has long left this world almost a hundred years ago!" Brainy questions the lad, looking at him rather sceptically.

"Well, I didn't mean it that way actually," The young man sheepishly admits, "My grandfather was his apprentice, my father studied under my grandfather, and I'm currently studying under my father. I have read all of Homnibus's books, so it is sort of like I know that great man. There were many books of you, the smurfs. This is the first time I ever got a chance to actually meet one. In one of his books he mentions that most of smurfs had died from a deadly disease, and that some of them barely survived it."

He pauses for a bit as if just realizing something. "Are you six the only survivors?"

The smurfs glance at each other before returning their gaze back at the young human.

"In a matter of speaking, yeah." Sassette nods quietly.

"Wow, I still can't believe that I am actually seeing all of you!" The young man exclaims, looking almost giddy.

"Well, actually there are four more," Slouchy blurts out, "We are on a mission to try and free them from a demon named Asmoday."

"Slouchy!" Brainy turns sharply to him and gives him a scolding look. Slouchy responds by giving his elder a sheepish look.

"Asmoday?" The man ponders for a moment, then smiles. "There are books from Homnibus's collection that talk about Asmoday, and spells to defeat him."

All the eyes of the six smurfs lit up like a Christmas tree when they heard that. All of these years searching, and here, finally, is the information they have been looking for! The young man notices this excitement in their faces and kneels before them.

"You smurfs wouldn't want to see these books, would you?" He asked carefully.

Without thinking about it all six smurfs cry out, "Yes!"

Catching herself, Brainette shakes head and put on a neutral expression. "That is, if we are not imposing on you." She says, looking at the young human man.

"Nonsense!" The young human laughs. "I'm betting my father would like to meet all of you too!"

Each of the smurfs takes a deep breath before agreeing to the human's offer.

"Alright!" The man cheers. As he gets up to lead the smurfs back to his place, he turns to them and says, "By the way my name is Joseph. What's yours?"

The bespectacled smurf draws himself up proudly. "I'm Brainy, this is Brainette, and the young smurfs here are Snappy, Slouchy, Nat, and Sassette." He chimes, addressing the other five smurfs in turn with him.

"It's an honor to meet all of you." Joseph smiles.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Before I show you the library, I want to show you something else." Joseph says, taking the smurfs into a room of his castle home. As the young human lights up a candle, the small light illuminates most of the room.

"This little fella came to our family's possession just after King Gerard passed away." Joseph takes the candle and places beside a glass case. Inside the case the Clockwork Smurf stands completely motionless. The wooden android does not seem to acknowledge the presence of the other smurfs who are gathering around to gawk at him.

"I'm afraid he doesn't work anymore," the young man says in a solemn way, "All of his gears are so old and brittle that even if they were replaced he would never work the way he once did in his day."

"Well at least he is still in one piece on the outside." Brainy says, trying to lighten up the mood a little.

"I bet Handy Smurf would just cry seeing his creation like this." Sassette whispers in an emotional tone.

"Seeing Clockwork like this makes me think of Hefty, Toughette, and the babies." Nat says, holding back his tears.

"All the more reason why we need to find the information needed to defeat Asmoday and get them back!" Brainy says resolvedly.

Joseph nods. "I understand. Come, the library is this way. We may have a few books you can look up," he says, and leads the smurfs out of the room. As they enter into a library the smurfs' jaws drop open in astonishment. The room is stunningly huge and has about a hundred wall-to-wall bookcases full of books of all sizes. "Well, here they are." The young human says proudly.

When the smurfs heard Joseph say he had a few books they didn't expect that he meant going into a castle where almost half of the old building is dedicated to all of these books from Homnibus, plus newer ones added to it recently!

When Joseph notices the smurfs' dazed expressions he looks sheepish. "Now, I can't seem to remember which ones contained information on Asmoday, but I think it's over there near the back of the library." He tells the smurfs, pointing to the farthest end of the room.

"This could take a while." Brainette comments with a look of dismay.

"I never said it would be easy, Brainette." Brainy says, looking seriously into her eyes.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

It took the smurfs a few years just to go through books, page after page, most of them containing some of the information that they have already known about Asmoday. For the moment it seems that coming here to the library is a waste of time, but at the same time it was nice not to have to keep traveling everywhere and back to the cave each year. Joseph and his father, Morgan, had convinced the smurfs to go with the young man and a wagon to go fetch their treasures from the Old Village they had left in the cave, and store them away at the castle for safety.

The idea turned out to be a good one since the area where they used to live in a cave is slowly being invaded by humans. They were going to destroy the cave to help build a town for themselves. Joseph and the four young smurfs that went with him managed to sneak in and grab what they came for in the middle of the night, and left before any human at the nearby camp became wise to their stealthy movements.

Brainy and Brainette emitted a huge sigh of relief when they saw the four young smurfs return, bringing their treasures with them once again, safe and sound, and none of the precious objects broken too. They placed their treasures in the same room where Clockwork Smurf is kept. Over the years the smurfs have grown to trust Joseph and Morgan. They even got to meet Joseph's wife and his son, age four, and daughter, age 9. For the first time in a hundred years the smurfs felt as if they were part of a big family again. The smurfs even helped and counseled their human family with dilemmas that happened to come their way. This proved to be quite distracting and the smurfs were not quite as dedicated to their quest to destroy Asmoday as they should be. The six surviving smurfs would have just e up on looking for a way to get rid of the demon , but the emptiness they felt whenever they thought of Hefty, Toughette, and the babies in the clutches of that filthy demon, motivates them to maintain their focus in order to get their beloved ones back.

In 1682 the smurfs resumes searching through the books once more after their many adventures with Joseph and his family. One warm afternoon Brainette pulls back from reading one of the spell books. She reaches up and with one hand she takes off her glasses, and with the other she takes out the hair pin that keeps her hair up. With a shake of her head, Brainette's brown hair comes loose from a bun and floats down past her shoulders. She sighs and scratches the back of her head where her bun used to be. As she places her pink-rimmed glasses back on her face she notices Brainy sitting on a large book not far away, and he is watching her.

"What?" She says, giving him a suspicious look.

Embarrassed at being caught, Brainy gives a bashful grin before responding. "Nothing, you just look nice with your hair down. That's all."

"Very funny." Brainette grumbles, not really believing him.

"No, I'm serious. You really do look nice with your hair down," Brainy says sincerely, "It reminds me of the Blue Moon Ball you smurfettes hosted in the Old Smurf Village."

"You never said anything before…" Brainette trailed off, feeling unsure of how she should feel about his remark. In fact this is the first time he has ever commented on how she looked.

Brainy looks down. "I'm sorry if I didn't say anything before. I was an entirely different smurf back then." He quietly admits.

"Yes, we all were." The smurfette responds with a small smile as she gently pushes back a few strains of her dark brown hair away from her face.

"I can't believe we are already 317 years old already." Brainy says, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Indeed. Time sure flies by when we were wandering from country to country in order to find a way to free our friends and the babies from a demon." Brainette comments in a half joke. She gets up from a kneeling in the front of the book she is reading and sits down on a nearby pile of other books behind her. Brainy hops down from the large book he was sitting on and joins her, sitting side by side with her.

"I sometimes wonder if all of this is worth it," Brainy says after a moment, "What if there is no other way to beat Asmoday." He gives Brainette a look of dismay, "Hefty, Toughette, and the babies would be doomed to be prisoners in those hibernation crystals forever!"

"We will find a way, Brainy. Nothing will make us quit now." Brainette attempts to sound confident.

"I never, in all _my_ years growing up in the Old Village, did I fight so hard for anything," Brainy says, shaking his head again," "The only thing that I had to struggle for was to gain respect and appreciation from the other smurfs!"

"You got that now, Brainy." She says reassuringly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Brainy looks into her wide, expressive eyes. He can't help but become transfixed with the way her soft brown hair perfectly framed her round blue face. The pink rimmed glasses seem to give her much more mature appearance. _Beautiful and smart_, Brainy thought. Natural copper highlights in Brainette's chestnut brown hair seem to sparkle in the light. This makes her all more smurfier in Brainy's eyes. Brainy can't help himself; he had to touch her hair. Brainette does not try to stop him as he runs his fingers through the soft tresses on her head. She closes her eyes and leans her head into his hand. Obviously she is enjoying his touch. Brainette moves her hand away from his shoulder; Brainy catches her hand in his other hand and wraps his fingers gently around it as he continues to stroke her hair.

"That feels nice." She purrs contently.

"Yeah?" Brainy whispers near her ear as if he is about to kiss it.

The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupts their conversation. Startled, Brainy and Brainette turn to see Snappy and Slouchy looking over at them from the other books where they are reading themselves.

"Do you two mind? We are trying to read here!" Slouchy says in a mock serious tone, pointing at the page he is trying to read.

"Yeah, why don't you both go get a room or something?" Snappy adds with a smirk on his face.

Brainette shakes her head in exasperation before turning back to Brainy. "Cheeky young smurfs, aren't they?"

"No kidding." Brainy says, trying not to smirk. Snappy and Slouchy can no longer hold in their laughter and roll around on the floor, chortling loudly.

"Oh, grow up you two. Your 235 years old already!" Brainy shakes his head, trying to maintain a serious, mature tone.

"I think they should be punished anyways." Brainette suggests with a mischievous grin.

"Yes, I think you are right, Brainette!" Brainy declares, and then addresses the snickering smurfs, "Boys, how about an extra hour for your defense practice this afternoon?"

Snappy is not at all phased. "Suits me fine," he says, throwing up his arms with a grin, "All of this reading is starting to give me a headache."

But Slouchy flinches at the thought of defense practice. "Not me," he says with a slow shake of his head, "I'd rather keep up in the research if it's all the same."

"Bookworm!" Snappy snickers again.

"Naw, I just don't like fighting. It's just…unsmurfy," Slouchy answers seriously.

Brainy frowns. "Hefty and Toughette taught you smurfs how to defend yourselves for a reason," he lectures the younger smurfs, "Now you never know what kind of trouble we can run into. In fact we have already run into all sorts of situations that needed the skills Hefty and Toughette took the time to teach you!"

Abashed, both Slouchy and Snappy bow their heads in respect for their defenders that sacrificed their freedom for theirs.

"Hey smurfs," Sassette calls out as she enters the library with a tray filled sandwiches and fresh fruit.

"We made lunch. Anyone hungry?" Nat adds, also walking in with a tray of four glasses of smurfberry juice.

"That actually sounds like a smurfy idea!" Brainy says happily, "A brief break sounds like something we all can use. Let's eat!"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

A few weeks later, Slouchy is sitting alone with Joseph in the library while Sassette, Nat, and Snappy went outside to practice their defense exercises. Even Brainy and Brainette decided to take a break from their research to enjoy a little walk by themselves up along a nearby creek.

Slouchy pauses reading the book to look out of the window and watch his three friends, Snappy, Nat, and Sassette, doing a martial arts dance with their own wooden staffs. Joseph's son and daughter who are now young adults and had children of their own, are outside watching the young smurfs in action.

The old man looks up from his desk where he was scribbling notes. "Why don't you go down and practice with them?" Joseph suggests, noticing how quiet Slouchy had became.

"No, it's alright. I'm not much of a fighter." Slouchy says with a shrug.

"Well, I've notice that even Brainy and Brainette take breaks from these books every so often. But, is there something else you are trying to avoid besides defense practice?" The elder human asks curiously.

Slouchy thinks for a moment before looking up at his old friend. "Not really, I just don't like fighting."

"I see." The human ponders, rubbing his beard thoughtfully.

"Could you pass me the next book beside you please, Joseph?" Slouchy asks, pointing at the pile of hard cover books beside him.

"Sure. Here you go."

Slouchy starts flipping through the old, dusty book, skimming quickly through each page to see if any information would catch his attention. As usual, nothing seems to pop out at him. He gets to about the middle of the book when an image of a two-color Beetle Gem catches his eye and he promptly stops scanning in order to read it more carefully.

"The Beetle Gem," The young smurf mutters out loud.

"The Beetle Gem?" The elderly man raises his eyebrows. "I've heard of that. It is a very powerful emblem. It's been said that it is created by some desert gnomes in the border of Israel and Egypt. In order to secure it from falling into the hands of demonic entities, the gnomes halved it in two and hid them in Egypt in two different ruins, about a several miles or so apart," Joseph says, thinking back to his childhood lessons. "Why, do you think you might have found something?"

"I'm not sure, but I think Brainy and Brainette would be very interested in having a look at this," Slouchy says, jumping up and heading eagerly for the door.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

It took the smurfs almost three years to travel across the hot desert of Egypt. They left the castle, leaving their human family to protect their treasures for them while the smurfs journeyed all they way to an ancient town called Bubastis. Following the description and the directions found in the old book, they found a ruin of a priest's temple. Deep inside the old temple they were able to find the one half of the Beetle Gem, although it was not easy at first, digging it out from its hiding place beneath. Before leaving Bubastis, the smurfs found a clue where to look for the other half. The clue that tells them they must travel down the desert to Cairo, the home of the Sphinx.

In order to avoid heat stroke the six smurfs travelled during the night and camped under the shade of their tents during the day. One night just before the sun was about to rise the smurfs realized that they were actually much closer to their destination than they thought. Therefore they did not feel it necessary to set up their tents and try to sleep through another hot day. Instead, the smurfs decided to brave the blistering morning sun by walking all the way to the Sphinx roughly five miles away (which can be much longer of a distance for a smurf!)

Brainy, Brainette, and Snappy are walking rather briskly in the front, while Nat and Slouchy walk casually behind them. Straggling Sassette takes up the rear, mostly due the lack of sleep she has been having the last few weeks. She hates trying to sleep when the weather is hot, and late night walks are not helping much either. Sassette is so tired; she uses her staff as a walking cane in order to keep her from toppling over from exhaustion.

It so happened that when she leans upon her staff, she somehow pushes it deep into the sand. Almost immediately a large scorpion pops out from the sand where it had burrowed during the hot days, nearly right under Sassette's staff! It instantly goes after Sassette.

The large golden sand color arachnid lunges forward with one of his large, well developed claws. It goes to grab Sassette's arm, but is only able to snip her long sleeve and scrape her arm. The movement was so fast that it caught Sassette off guard. She shouts, pulls back and at the same time loses her balance. The next thing she knows, she is lying flat on her back on the ground, looking up at this sharp, needle-like venomous tip of its long tail coming straight down at her! Quick thinking and pure reflexes barely saves her life as Sassette rolls over to one side just in the nick of time as the scorpion plunges the poisonous dart tip right into the sand where she had lain only seconds before!

Both Snappy and Nat, hearing her yell, come running to her rescue. Together they jump in and try to steer the desert predator away from their female companion.

"Easy there, our desert friend. We are only passing through!" Nat says, trying to reason with the scorpion.

"Careful Nat! I don't think this thing is interested in becoming friends!" Snappy cries out slapping the scorpion's tail away from his nature-loving brother. The scorpion is roughly 8 inches long, but to smurfs it looks terrifyingly huge, with large clicking claws and a deadly tip at the end of a long curled tail!

Without thinking twice, Slouchy comes running, picks up Sassette's staff which she had dropped in panic and uses it like a spear. He jabs the scorpion in between its eight eyes. Being that the staff has a blunt tip it did not pierce the hard shell of the scorpion, but that does not mean that the scorpion did not feel the force of the jab.

The arachnid shakes its head a few times and chitters angrily before coming to the realization that messing with these strange blue creatures is not such a good idea after all. It retreats quickly over a nearby dune, leaving the smurfs alone under the hot sun.

"Wow," is all Slouchy can say, stunned at his own action. He hates anything to do with violence, and yet, he could not stand idly by and watch that dangerous creature hurt his friends!

"Good job, Slouchy." Snappy cheers, slapping his friend hard on the back. Brainy and Brainette come hurrying over to join them, concerned but relieved that the four young smurfs are no longer in danger.

"So, Slouchy, you still think that Hefty and Toughette's lessons were unsmurfy?" Brainy whispers near Slouchy's ear, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

Slouchy looks up at his older brother with a sheepish grin. Brainy smiles proudly at him before walking ahead of everyone.

"Come on, everysmurf," Brainy says, squinting anxiously toward the lightening horizon, "We are almost at the Sphinx, and I don't know about the rest of you, but the sun has barely risen and I already want to get out from under the sun as soon as possible!"

Nat and Snappy reach down to help Sassette back up to her feet. They walk on each side of the redheaded smurfette in order to protect her during the remainder part of their journey across the desert (just in case any more scorpions show up to attack them!)

"You know, one thing's for sure, Toughette would not be too impressed with that creature," Brainette comments off-handedly as she walks beside Brainy.

"Why's that?" He asked her curiously.

"That creature had a needle-tip tail. Toughette hates needles." She replies with a half chuckle.

Brainy thought back during the days of the Old Village. "Oh, yeah. I remember the big deal she would put Nursette through during flu season." He says, chuckling as well.

The six smurfs eventually arrive at base of the Sphinx, and climb up to the chest of the half-lion, half-man statue. There they find a stone plaque with something written on it.

Sassette takes a close look at the writing and reads the riddle out loud. "I help carry a large body from one end of the earth to another. I give the body ability to stand tall and reach for the sky. What am I? Hmmm." As she ponders this, she absent-mindedly touches the deep scratch on her arm. After a brief moment of though, Sassette comes up with the answer. "I'm a foot."

"Very good," Brainy says approvingly to the redheaded smurfette.

"Hey, riddles always were my specialty, remember?" Sassette winks at him. Brainy smiles proudly at her, letting her know that he indeed remembers.

There were some kind of hieroglyphics under the riddle. Brainette pushes the image of brick indicated in the plague and a door opens. They all cheers at this new discovery.

"How's your arm, Sassette?" Brainy asks the redhead smurfette, noticing how she is rubbing her arm.

"It's sore," She answers him honestly.

"In that case you better stay up here. It looks like it could be very dusty down there and I don't want your arm to get an infection," The older smurf suggests.

"Ok." Sassette replies, looking a tad nervous.

Just then Nat speaks up. "I'll stay with her, Brainy! She looks like she could use medical care on her arm, and I can patch her up while you four get the other half of the Beetle Gem!" He offers.

"Alright," Brainy nods approvingly. "We won't be long. You two better set up a tent. We will camp here during the day before heading home tonight." He says, leading the way for the rest of the smurfs into the Sphinx.

Twenty minutes later, Nat managed to put up a tent and had just finished wrapping Sassette's wounded arm in a clean bandage. He looks up into her sweet innocent eyes and smiles.

"There," he says, "good as new…well, sort of."

"Thanks Nat," Sassette smiles back, "You did a great job. The throbbing is starting to go away now."

"Well, we don't want your arm to get infected or anything." He says with a shy grin.

"You sound like Nursette." The redheaded smurfette chuckles.

"She is the one that taught me how to bandage up wounds like that," Nat tells her in a bashful tone, "She always said I was a natural with medicine as well as my knack for talking to animals."

"Out of the four of us growing up, you are the most talented one of all, Nat," Sassette says sweetly as she gently places her hand on top of his.

"Naw," Nat blushes even more and turns away slightly to hide his flushed cheeks. "I just do what I can."

Sassette leans over and kisses him on the cheek before he realizes what just happened. His cheeks become a brighter purple-rouge color.

Stunned, he stares wide-eyed at her. "What was that for?" He exclaims.

Now it is Sassette's turn to look shy. "That was just my way of saying thanks for sitting with me and fixing up my arm." She tells him softly.

Nat recovers quickly and chuckles. "Well, isn't that what friends are for?" He says affably, trying to stop himself from blushing again in front of Sassette but with little success.

The two of them get into a more comfortable sitting position in the tent. Sassette is still feeling tired, so she leans her head against Nat's chest and slowly dozes off. Together they wait patiently for the other smurfs to return with the other half of the Beetle Gem.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Hey I think I found something!" Slouchy called to the others from the other end of the room. He had just stumbled upon a rusty color clay chest shoved somewhere in a corner under the stone plaque. Noticing some kind of markings on the surface of the plaque, he reaches over and with one hand he carefully wipes away a heavy layer of dust off the lid while holding up a burning torch with the other hand. He stops quickly when the dust rises into air, so much that he pulls away coughing.

"Careful Slouchy, you'd better let me do that." Brainette says soothingly. She steps in as she pulls out her little brush used especially for archeological digging. With light sweeps she clears the surface well enough to read the inscription carved into the rock.

Brainette squints her eyes in order to read the faded writing. Her smile starts to spread slowly across her face at what she's discovered. With a broad grin she turns to the other smurfs. "It's in here!" She cheers.

Brainy tries not to get too excited. They have had so many disappointments with dead end searches. He walks over to one end of the rusty color clay chest under encrypted stone plaque. With a single motion of his hand, Brainy instructs Snappy to come and grab the other end of the chest. "Well we'll need to get this lid off and see if the Beetle Gem is inside We're wasting too much time already!"

As the two smurfs struggles to remove the lid off the a huge, dense dust cloud rises up from the chest, filling the small, grimy room insomuch that all the four smurfs break out into fits of coughing. Brainy tries to wave off some of the dust floating around in the air so he can see inside the rusty color chest. He indeed sees a shiny object inside.

"Slouchy, bring the torch over here." He calls out eagerly to the young smurf. Slouchy does as he is told, and holds the torch high enough to give Brainy a clear vision of what is in the box. By now the dust in the room is starting to settle down.

With a triumphant smile, Brainy can see what the object is. He reaches in and pulls out the other half of the beetle with a sapphire gem on its back. Brainette pulls out the first half of the beetle with a ruby gem and holds it up against Brainy's half. Just by holding them so close together, the two smurfs can feel the powerful magic the gems possess. It practically vibrates through out their entire bodies.

"Now all we need to do now is go back home and figure out how to use and control the magic from these gems!" Brainette tells him. Brainy nods in agreement before putting his half of the gem into his back pack. Brainette likewise returns her gem in her own back pack. Again, as before, Brainy takes the lead in guiding everyone back out of the tunnel.


	10. To Take Back, pt2

**Chapter 10: To Taking Back, Part 2**

Return to present 

Hefty and Toughette sit with a stunned look on their faces. They have been holding a piece of carrot close to their mouths for about two minutes as they listened avidly to Brainy telling the tale of the smurfs' search for the Beetle Gem. Never in their wildest dreams would Hefty and Toughette ever imagine their smart siblings overcoming such odds on their own.

To make sure Brainy is telling the truth, the strong siblings turn to Brainette and look questioningly at her. She smiles and nods her head to confirm that Brainy is indeed telling the truth. "Yes, that is how it happened," She reassures them.

"Wow," Hefty gasps. He is unsure what to think of all of this yet.

"It sure does sound like you two have been on quite the adventure while we were, um, sleeping." Toughette says, looking bemused. She takes a bite of the piece of a carrot and chews for a while before swallowing. "One thing's for sure is that scorpion you ran into defiantly sounds like something I would not have liked to meet!"

"Yeah," Hefty nods in agreement.

He too takes a bite of a carrot in his hand and leans back against the soft comfortable cushions of the couch. In fact the arm of the couch could defiantly be used as a pillow if he wanted to use it that way. His eyelids grow heavy and he blinks a few times. Suddenly Hefty feels so tired. He wonders if Toughette is feeling just as tired as he is. As he swallows the last piece of a carrot, Hefty turns to see that Toughette is sipping on the tasty Jasmine Green Tea. Her eyes look sleepy. That tells Hefty that she is indeed exhausted, too.

After he lets out a big yawn that seems to have suddenly snuck up on him, Hefty again turns to Brainy and Brainette. "So what happened after that, Brainy?" He asks, quickly recovering from the yawn.

"Are you sure you two want to hear the rest tonight? You both look very tired right now." Brainy asks, raising one eyebrow at his younger strong brother.

"Tired? I'm not tired!" Hefty fibs, shaking his head negatively at the very idea.

"Me neither. We want to know what happened next!" Toughette demands.

Brainy and Brainette glance at each other with the look of uncertainty. They wonder if they should try convincing their siblings to get some rest before continuing the story of their adventures.

Brainette finally takes a deep breath, indicating that it is her turn to narrate the story. "Alright. On our way back from Egypt we ran into another human that was related to our, uh, the smurfette's past…"

**OoOoOoOoOoOo**

_ Flashback _

**1689 – Northern Romania **

None of the other smurfs are more relieved to be out of Egypt than Sassette is. The heat had definitely done a number on her; the young smurfette certainly feels like she is being baked under the sweltering sun! She starts to think back to the moment when she was attacked by that 8 inch scorpion. It would most likely have been the scariest moment of her life. Thank goodness she has three very close friends who jumped in and rescued her. Sassette looks over to right and sees Nat walking beside her. She smiles warmly at him. Nat notices that, and again he blushes slightly as he smiles in return at her. She turns her head to the left and sees Snappy and Slouchy trudging on besides her. She too gives them a warm smile, and they responded with a big grin. Those three young smurfs have been her closest friends since the very day they swiped a spell from Gargamel's laboratory and used it to create her. What would Sassette ever do without her dearest friends?

Just up head from the trail they are walking on they became aware of a noise of what sounded like angry people yelling from a distance. Now and then one of them let out a loud curse. When the smurfs listen carefully it sounds like the mob are calling out _'kill the witch'_.

"What's that?" Slouchy asks, surprised.

"I don't know, but it sounds like something we should avoid," Brainy said uneasily, trying to lead his group away from the source of noise up ahead.

"No, wait! I want to see what's going on," Brainette declares, and runs off to investigate.

"Brainette! Hold on!" Brainy cries out in dismay, reaching his arm out to try and stop her, or at least slow her down before she would get into trouble.

However, the rest of the smurfs decide to follow Brainette. To Brainy's annoyance, they scurry over to the edge of the road and, standing side by side with Brainette, they peer through a bush to see what is going on. What they see is a huge crowd of angry people gathering in one place in the midst of a village - men, women and children. They seem to be jostling one another and throwing rotten fruits and rocks at a young woman who is cowering on the road with the people surrounding her. Brainette eyes the girl carefully. There seems to be something familiar about her. But what could it be? She almost looks like someone she once knew a long time ago.

"She's a witch!" One of the villagers cries out spitefully.

"She must be burned at the stake!" Another one hollers out from the crowd. Many of the other villagers cheer at that idea.

"Wait! Stop! I didn't do anything wrong! Why are you doing this?" The young woman cries out desperately. The mob pays no attention to her pleas or her innocent tears.

"This is horrible! They are going to kill her!" Brainette shouts anxiously. "We have to do something! That _and_ they are using the wrong phrase. It is called Wiccan, not Witch!" She adds angrily and stomping her foot to the ground.

By now Brainy had joined his fellow smurfs. "What can we do? There is a whole village of insane humans up against one girl, and we are only six smurfs, three apples high," he explains logically.

"Yeah, how on earth will we ever stand a chance in rescuing her?" Slouchy says, agreeing with Brainy.

Brainette shakes her head. Without saying a word she kneels down. She swings her backpack from her behind over to the front. She then pulls out of the bag her ruby half of the Beetle Gem.

"Brainette, no!" Brainy says in a panicky tone, "We don't understand the power of that Gem yet. There can be so much that could go wrong if we try using it now!"

"Relax, I'm not _that_ insane." Brainette groans, rolling her eyes at him.

The intelligent smurfette reaches back into her back pack and pulls out one of Mama Smurf's old spell books. She carefully but quickly turns the pages till she comes to the section she is looking for. Next she pulls out the wooden 'T'-shaped object she had used when the smurfs were first attacked by Asmoday. She quickly studies the words in the book before look down at the mob who is now tying the poor girl to a stake.

**"Appello ventosus tutamen tutaminis ****insons insontis**** lamia!" Brainette chants, holding the wooden 'T' high above her head.**

Immediately after she chanted her spell a gust of wind blows directly down at the village, and through the angry mob. The startled men and women all look around frantically. They seem to know that this is not a normal wind. Witchcraft has to play a part in this!

It isn't long before the spell starts to drain the energy from Brainette, leaving her feeling somewhat overwhelmed. Her arm that is holding up the wooden emblem begins to waver and she is about to lower it.

A blue hand suddenly grabs hold of Brainette's. Surprised, she glances over and sees Brainy standing right next to her. He gives her a wry look that said _'I'm helping you, but doesn't mean I have to like this idea'_. She gives him a grateful smile to show that she appreciates the help, regardless of how he might have felt about it. Brainy raises the wooden 'T' back high above Brainette's head. Over the years, these two have found out they are much stronger when they cast spells together. Glancing down at the next phrase of the spell in the book, he prepares to speak with his beloved mate.

**"Animus tutamen tutaminis ****insons insontis**** lamia! Autus conforto ventosus! Labores solis exsilium contemno!" Brainy chants along with Brainette.**

With that said, a dark shadow unexpectedly covers the sun. Feeling panicky now, most of the crowd begun to flee the scene in terror. It wasn't long before all of the villagers are gone, having decided to find a safe haven somewhere else and leaves the girl completely alone, still tied to the stake.

The young girl knows that magic is involved in creating this sudden blackness and the strange wind, but who would be powerful enough to create such things? Movement on the ground catches the young girl's attention, and she looks down. Six little blue creatures are walking toward to her. Surprised, she gives them a puzzled look. Could these be the ones that created the blackout? Something about those tiny people is tickling her brain.

"I may be mistaken, but you are smurfs, are you not?" The young girl finally asks.

"Yes we are," Sassette replies, looking curiously at her, "How did you know?" While she is speaking, Nat, Slouchy, and Snappy quickly climb up the stake to set the girl free. She leaps down from the stake with a big sigh of relief.

"Well, let's just say my family is familiar with the stories, especially with the Smurfette Village." The young girl says with a grin as she dusts herself and crouches low enough to get a better look at the smurfs.

"Really?" Brainette says, raising an eyebrow suspiciously, "Your family wouldn't be familiar with Gloria O'Conner would they?"

The young girl lets out a little chuckle. "To put it simply, Gloria just happens to be my Great-Great-Great Grandmother."

"That is why you seem so familiar to me!" Brainette exclaims, snapping her fingers in recognition. "You look just like Gloria, only younger!"

Suddenly Snappy appears at the side of the older smurfette, "Uh, I hate to break up this odd reunion, but the humans are returning," Snappy announces, jerking his thumb toward the village behind them. The mob can be seen advancing toward them, although at some distance away. "I suggest we get out of here while we can!"

"I agree," Brainy says, nodding his head emphatically.

"You better come with us, child," Brainette tells the girl kindly, "It is no longer safe for you to stay here by yourself!"

The girl nods her head in acknowledgement. "Ok, follow me, please. We'll go to my cottage - It is just a couple of miles from here!" The young girl says. With that she trots off into the forest with the smurfs following her.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Um, nice _little_ place you have here." Snappy says in the utmost literal sense.

The cottage is indeed tiny. In fact, it seems more like a small shed than a cottage – small even to the smurfs by their standards. There is barely enough room to put a little table with a plate and cup with a fork on top. In the corner is a pile of hay with a blanket laying on top of it. It is obvious that would be where the girl sleeps. In this small space, even the smurfs are starting to feel claustrophobic just standing in the middle of this place.

"I know it's small, smurfs, but it is my home," The girl replies. There is a hint of hurt in the tone of the young girl's voice. She walks over to her straw bed and sits cross-legged on it with a sad expression that she can't seem to hide.

Brainette caught the girl's tone and steps up to her. The intelligent smurfette places a friendly hand on her bare foot that is poking out from under her ragged long grey dress. "Where are your parents, child?"

"They're…not here." She says, almost in a whisper, and turns away from the brunette smurfette.

"Where are they?" Slouchy asked, shrugging his shoulders to indicate he doesn't have a clue.

"They died four years ago. I was only twelve when it happened," The girl answers tearfully.

Each of the smurfs look to each other with the same thought in mind. They know how this girl feels in losing her family. The pain of losing the Old Smurf Village and most of their beloved ones still stings sharply in their hearts.

The smurfette pushes her pink-rimmed glasses up against her face before looking up again at the girl. "What is your name, child?"

"It's Melanie." The young girl replies softly.

Again the smurfs look at each other. It is like their thoughts are melding into one. Once more, Brainette looks up at Melanie.

"Melanie, we don't feel you are safe to live here anymore."

"But this is my home! Where else am I going to go?" Melanie asked with fresh tears in her eyes.

"You can come with us," Sassette says in a friendly tone.

"Well, we will have to discuss it with Joseph first," Brainy speaks up, "But I'm sure he would be more than willing to welcome you to our home."

Melanie blinks, unsure if this is for real. "I-I wouldn't be imposing, would I?" She asks worriedly.

"Of course not," Sassette chirps cheerfully, "Trust us; we know what it is like to lose a family. We would be honored if you come with us."

"If we are going to leave, I suggest we do it now before the villagers discover this place and makes things worse for us!" Brainy says in a worried tone.

Melanie finally makes up her mind. "Ok, but let me grab something first!" The girl gets up and grabs an object from the corner of the room. Although the stick is wrapped up in a blanket so it is not recognizable to any of the smurfs, it appears to be long with something bulging at the end of it.

"What is that?" Snappy asks curiously.

Melanie looks a little shy and clutches the object tightly close to her chest. "It's a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation right back to my Great-Great-Great Grandmother. I can't just leave it behind!" So saying, she follows the smurfs across the meadow, leaving her old shed forever.

Melanie traveled with the smurfs for two months till they reached Joseph's castle. After hearing her woeful story, Joseph accepted the young Wiccan into his family right away. Not only that, but just recently Joseph and his family had started a school for young Wiccans and Wizards in a section of the castle, the decision being that the students needs a large space to practice their crafts. Melanie instantly became one of Joseph's top students and not only that, she also falls in love with one of the top Wizard students in the school.

When Joseph asked Brainy and Brainette if they would be interested in teaching some classes, neither of them couldn't resist. So from time to time they enthusiastically participate in the classes whenever they could. They also spend plenty of time studying the Beetle Gem and figuring out how to control its magic when they are not busy teaching some of the students. The first couple of attempts proved that the Gem is indeed dangerous for which they are not prepared, both mentally and physically. In some cases it took Brainy and Brainette a few days, sometimes weeks, to recover from the effects of the magic that is emitting from the Gem. There have been days when both Brainy and Brainette wondered if they'd ever be able to control the powerful magic, and be able to survive it too. It once crossed their minds that had they been younger that it might be easier to control the Gem's magic. But there is nothing they could do about it but do their best to master the Beetle Gem.

Weeks turned into months which turned into years. Melanie eventually married the Wizard student from her class and they now have two daughters and three sons. They have a home nearby the castle, and are now teachers themselves in the school.

Generations after generations roll onwards. Joseph and Melanie's children and grandchildren have been born and are all grown up with their own families. It saddens the smurfs to see their human families grow old faster then they do. Soon their dear friends would pass away with age, but not before wishing the smurfs success with their mission in getting their fellow smurfs and babies back. Melanie kept her own mother's word and passed down the heirloom that her mom gave her and her mother before her down to her own oldest daughter. She'd also give her the same speech her mom gave her. _Always know that you can use this sacred object when the moment calls for it._ For generations each daughter who dutifully accepts this heirloom would usually have a baffled look on their faces when they hear their mother's admonishing words concerning the mysterious heirloom.

All those years, Brainy and Brainette are still teaching a class or two in their spare time at Joseph's school with his grandchildren who are now mature adults. By now Brainy and Brainette are starting to show their age by a little gray in her hair and in his beard. And Slouchy, Snappy, and Nat no longer have the "shaven clean" look anymore. Snappy has a dirty-blond color mustache and beard, Nat is growing a chestnut brown one while Slouchy sports an amber-colored beard with no mustache.

After the classes, and at times with the occasional help from their friends, the bespectacled older smurfs would continue learning how to control the Gem, degree by degree. Every time they manage to control just one aspect of the Gem, the better they got. It was slow going, but each time they mastered one or two aspects there would be a celebration throughout the whole castle.

This went on for many more years, until one day in the year 1848…

"Do you feel that, Brainy?" Brainette asks her mate eagerly one afternoon while she is standing beside him, holding half of the Gem locked together with his.

"Yes I can," Brainy affirms with a nod.

They both feel, for the first time, the harmonious vibration that has connected deep within their body and soul. The magic of the Gem has finally accepted them as its masters and is integrating with their energy without causing them any more distress. This is a great victory for the older smurfs.

"It only took us a hundred and fifty-nine years, but I think we have finally and fully mastered this Gem!" Brainy says in an excited tone.

"Let's go tell the others before we go rescue Hefty, Toughette and the babies from Asmoday!" Brainette happily tells Brainy with a bright smile.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The two older smurfs are standing at the cave they never thought they would see again after so many years. Old fears creep up inside them, practically paralyzing them as they try to get their bearings straight. This is the moment they've been waiting for 343 years! They can't afford cold feet now! Not when the babies and their fellow smurfs are depending on them, even if they do not know they are coming for them. One thing's for sure, Brainy and Brainette are glad they left the four younger smurfs back home at Joseph's Wizard/Wiccan school. This is a task only the older smurfs can even hope to accomplish by themselves without any help.

It took them a moment to realize that the cave seems awfully quiet. Brainy and Brainette look at each other before deciding to enter the cave together. As it was in the day when they first entered the cave, the silence is eerie. Again the two older smurfs notice the familiar torches burning on each wall, causing each shadow in the cave to dance. Deep within, they found the throne room. On each side of Asmoday's throne stands Hefty and Toughette in their crystallized prison. Off in the corner that is now well lit the two babies are lying on the ground facing the throne, frozen within the crystal that formed around them. Quickly Brainy and Brainette glance in all directions around the cave. To their relief, there is no sign of Asmoday. Now, the challenge is to whom should they set free first - Hefty and Toughette, or the babies?

"I think we should free the babies first." Brainette finally suggests.

"Any particular reason why?" Brainy asks, curious why she would choose to free the babies before freeing Hefty and Toughette.

"Just call it a hunch," Brainette replies. "If something goes wrong, and we have to cut the rescue short, at least the babies would be out of the clutches of this evil demon. That is how Hefty and Toughette would want it anyway!" Brainette adds in a sober tone.

Brainy says nothing but nods reluctantly in agreement. Both he and his mate walk over to Babette and Baby Smurf. Both the youngsters were curled up, seemingly sleeping within their glassy prison. Each of the older smurf pulls out their half of the Beetle Gem. They pause, looking down thoughtfully at the baby smurfs once more.

"You ready?" Brainette asks after a moment, holding her Ruby half of the beetle close to his Sapphire half.

"Sure," He answers her, with a hint of uncertainty in his tone.

Brainette tries to sound as confident. "Then let's do this!"

With a deep breath the two intelligent smurfs begin a special spell they've spent the last 159 years studying.

"Babette and Baby Smurf," Brainette starts off in a chant, holding out her right hand to the babies, and holding the Beetle Gem with her left hand.

"The youngest smurfs of the Old Village." Brainy adds while raising his left hand up to the sleeping smurflings in the crystals and holding the Beetle with his right.

"We release the curse that has trapped you, so awake now!" They chorus at once.

The two-part, dual-colored beetle reunites as one and begins to glow brightly; the eyes of the smurfs holding it also glow as well… A strong wind mysteriously blows inside the cave, causing the crystals surrounding the babies to melt away.

As more of the crystals are melting away Baby and Babette starts to stir, showing signs of waking up and breathing once more. They begin to whimper and flail their limbs around. Brainette and Brainy take the Gem apart and put their half back into their back packs before rushing over to the babies and scooping them up in their arms. At last both babies open their eyes. Curiously they look at the elderly smurfs. Their eyes widen, and their bodies stiffen almost instantly with shock. Apparently the babies have not recognized these older smurfs. At once Babette and Baby Smurf both start screaming in terror, overcame by all the strangeness around them.

Both the older smurfs start rocking the babies in an attempt to reassure them. "Shh, it's ok little ones; it's us, Brainy and Brainette." Brainette coos in Babette's ear.

"If I remember correctly this memory loss should be only temporary." Brainy states, thinking back to what Asmoday said when he freed the smurflings.

"CHEATERS!" Boomed a loud scary voice. "YOU BETRAYED OUR BARGAIN!"

Startled, the older smurfs jumps. It was Asmoday who had just stepped out of the shadows quite unexpectedly and is advancing rapidly toward them.

"Brainy! We have to get the babies out of here!" Brainette cries out in a panic.

"But what about Hefty and Toughette?" He shouts at her, obviously distressed. After all his fear of facing the evil demon again, Brainy is very reluctant to leave his strong brother and his mate behind again.

"We will come back for them! I promise!" She says hurriedly, pulling out her ruby half of the Gem once more, and holding it out toward Brainy.

"Alright," Brainy slowly nods as he pulls out his sapphire Gem. Together the older smurfs joins the halves together, all the while cradling each of the wailing babies in their other arm.

"**The powers that be; take us home!**" The older smurfs chant loudly.

In a quick flash they disappear along with the screaming babies. Seeing them gone, Asmoday pulls up stop and gnashed his teeth angrily.

"You think by finding yourself a powerful emblem will enable you to steal my trophies, and stop me from finding you and **_destroying_** you?" Asmoday cries, his baleful eyes glowing fiery red. "Very well, I will finish what I have started! Death will become you, you putrid worms, no matter where you are!" Asmoday roars so loud, the walls tremble around him.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The instant Brainy and Brainette returned to the castle all the Wizards and Wiccans who are waiting for their arrival gathered together quickly and anxiously around them. They combined all their magic to form a protective beerier to prevent Asmoday entering, should he follow them. But it would seem that Asmoday is the least of the older smurfs' minds. Baby and Babette have not stopped crying since they were rescued from the cave.

For a long while Sassette, Nat, Snappy, and even Slouchy tried everything to help the babies feel safe and loved. But nothing seems to be working. If anything, the babies only cry even louder.

"Smurf-a-roo, what a disaster!" Sassette cries in desperation.

"Yeah, how are we going to get Baby and Babette to stop crying already?" Snappy gripes, covering his ears to block out the loud screaming.

"But we've tried everything!" Slouchy protests anxiously.

"Everything, but singing to them…" Brainette trails off as though an idea had struck her. She seems to be thinking this out loud.

"Singing?" Nat's ears twitches. "We haven't sung anything since…since the days of the Old Village!"

"What makes you think singing will help now?" Snappy asks, throwing up his arms in frustration.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to try, young smurfs," Brainy chides, "But what song should we sing?" He says, looking at Brainette questioningly.

After thinking about it for a moment, Brainette raises her head and smiles. "I remember a song Mama Smurf used to sing to me and my sisters when we were smurflings," she says, recalling fondly of her younger days. "Perhaps that might help this situation? The song is called 'A Smurfette's Lullaby' I wonder if I can remember all the words…"

Brainy puts a hand on her shoulder to show that he is supporting her. "Give it a try Brainette."

"Ok," She nods to him. With a deep breath, Brainette begins to sing.

Hush little Ones,

Don't you cry.

I am here to wipe those tears dry.

Open your hearts,

Let me in.

Trust that Love has always been.

When you ask me why, this is what I say…

With joy in your life,

Friends at your side,

You can always feel safe when you sleep.

That's why they call it a Smurfette's Lullaby.

Brainy and the others look at each other with a smile of hope as the babies' screaming starts to grow quiet. Eventually it dwindles to a soft whimper. The babies look straight at Brainette as she continues the lullaby.

Free your thought of hate,

Free your mind from fright,

Know that you are in my arms tonight.

Look at life with a grin,

Trust yourself with me,

The world is there for you to see.

When you ask me why, this is what I say…

This time Brainy and the others join in the chorus of the song. The babies are now calming down and it looks as though they are about to drift off to sleep in Brainy and Brainette's arms.

With joy in your life,

Friends at your side,

You can always feel safe when you sleep.

That's why they call it a Smurfette's Lullaby.

That's why they call it a Smurfette's Lullaby.

Finally, with hardly a peep, the babies are sound asleep.

"It worked! They're sleeping!" Brainy cheers, but not too loudly as not to disturb the slumbering babies.

"That was the most beautiful song I have ever heard." Sassette gushes, sniffling with a tear running down her cheek. The other smurfs nod in silent agreement.

They now take this opportunity to admire the youngest smurfs as they sleep peacefully. It isn't till now on how much they have missed those tiny children. However, this does not, for one bit, take their minds away from Hefty and Toughette still in the clutches of Asmoday.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

A week has passed by and yet there is no sign of Asmoday coming after them. Could it be the spells of protection every Wizard and Wiccans, not to mention the smurfs, had conjured for this castle is keeping the demon at bay? That does not make the situation any safer thought, however. The smurfs can sense Asmoday stalking the grounds around the castle, like a wolf stalking its' pray.

On a positive note, the babies are safe and no longer in the clutches of that evil demon. By now the youngest smurfs are getting use to the six older smurfs. They have now accepted them, even if they don't seem to recognize them. Brainy and Brainette fear that because they are only infants, being trapped in those crystals for so long could have permanently affected babies' memories. The two intelligent smurfs tried telling the babies stories about the Old Village to see if that would stir up their past memories, but young ones shows no signs that they acknowledge ever being apart of the Old Village. All six of the surviving smurfs worry that if the babies' memories are permanently damaged, does that mean Hefty's and Toughette's memories would be affected, too, especially after being in hibernation for so long?

However, one day Brainy is holding Baby Smurf close to him while he is in thought for a possible strategy to defeat Asmoday once and for all. If not defeat him, at least Brainy would find a way to distract him long enough to get Hefty and Toughette out of the cave. He sits back in a soft comfortable cushion facing a window from the table in the library. With a thoughtful look, he stares out at the edge of the forest just a mile away from the castle. What should his next strategy be? Suddenly he feels Baby tugging at his now very white beard. This gesture, although very irritating, proves to be somewhat a comfort. Brainy looks down at the rambunctious infant with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"Don't pull so hard, Baby, I'm trying to think," He chides, trying to make his tone as serious as he can.

The innocence in Baby's eyes and the sweetness of his giggles cause Brainy to simply melt. How could he stay serious when the little guy is laughing?

"You used to do that to Papa Smurf's beard," Brainy asks Baby, half in jest. He thought about that and questions the smallest smurf rather hopefully, "Is it possible that you remember him and the Old Village by now?"

Baby Smurf gives him a perplexed look, as if to say that he has no clue on who Papa Smurf is and what the Old Village is all about.

Brainy lets out a disappointed sigh. "Of course you still won't remember it. One thing is for sure, Asmoday will pay for what he has done!" He shakes his head in disgust, "I won't let anything happen to you or Babette, I promise. I just have to figure out how we can beat him!"

A great granddaughter of Melanie named Amber just happens to walk by the door when she hears Brainy talking to Baby Smurf in the room. The twenty-two year old Wiccan pauses to think for a moment. She feels she should help. After all, the smurfs saved her great grandmothers' life. If they hadn't done that, Amber and her four younger siblings would not be here today! But how? What can Amber do to help the smurfs? That is when she remembers the family heirloom back in her home. At once she smiles to herself and runs quickly down the hall.

The next evening Brainy and Brainette are debating on what their strategy should be. They have been arguing for hours, while Baby and Babette sit near the crackling fireplace in the library. The two youngest smurfs look up briefly at the bickering couple. A frown appears on their little blue faces. They hate it when Brainy and Brainette argue. And what is worse, the babies are bored. What are they going to do? They look past their elders and see two brand new teddy bears sitting on the table, wearing cute little smurf hats. They are a gift to them from a few of the students some days ago. How they want those teddy bears! But how to get them? Their elders are so wrapped up in their discussion that they would never hear them calling for their teddies. The babies reach their arms out in desperation toward the stuffed bears. For some reason their natural instincts have the babies wriggling their fingers. Magic sparkles dance from their fingertips, much to their surprised delight. They watch as the sparkles float across the room toward the teddies and dance around them. Gradually the two stuffed bears rise up from the table and float back towards the babies.

"We need to do something, fast!" Brainette is saying in exasperation, "We can't just sit in this castle forever, especially if we want to get Hefty and Toughette out of that cave...Brainy? Brainy?"

Hearing nothing but total silence, Brainette stops and looks up from her book to see why Brainy is no longer paying attention to her. If there is one thing she cannot stand, it is being ignored. But Brainy was looking avidly upward. There seems to be something in the air that apparently is more interesting to him than what she is saying to him.

"…**Brainy!** What _are_ you looking at?" She demands, slamming both fists on top of the book in front of her.

Brainy doesn't answer her, but silently points his finger toward the objects floating over their heads. Brainette takes a look and does a double take. Floating teddy bears? The two intelligent smurfs watches, transfixed, as the teddies glide over their head and away from them. How is it that the stuffed animals are floating? Where are they going? Slowly the little teddy bears in smurf hats gradually descend towards the babies. To the bespectacled smurfs' surprise, they realize that it is the babies who are causing the teddy bears to move on their own into their little hands. The older smurfs could see that the babies' fingers are glowing with pure magic.

"Did you know they could do that?" Brainette asks in astonishment, whipping her head back to Brainy.

"No. I have no idea they know how to do that. And such young age, too!" Brainy replies, looking just as surprised, "There are no smurf that I knew of that could do that… Not even Papa Smurf himself!" He adds with confusion written on his face.

"Something tells me there is more of a reason why Asmoday wanted these babies as his trophies than we could imagine," Brainette assumes, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully.

Brainy nods. "I agree. Protecting these babies now is more important now than ever. We need to get rid of Asmoday once and for all!"

**OoOoOoOoOoOo**

They made the final decision; they have to confront the demon that has hunted their nightmares for centuries. Brainy and Brainette made sure the four other smurfs are staying at the castle with the babies. They even requested their human families and students to stay in the castle too, just in case. There was going to be no way Brainy and Brainette want to risk their lives for something that is completely their fight!

Both the elderly smurfs stand watching the forest intensely for any signs, even a tiniest movement. Any moment Asmoday would certainly show himself. Brainy pauses to think back when he was only 150 years old. He had been ashamed of himself for being such a coward. Never in a million years did he ever imagine going up a demon in order to save his friends! He wonders if he would even survive going up against Asmoday this time. No. He has to survive! He made a promise to himself that he'd get Hefty and Toughette back!

A loud thunderous growl brings Brainy's attention quickly back. Brainy wishes that the butterflies in his stomach would just go away. He is having problems concentrating on the spells he and Brainette had studied in order to defeat Asmoday, if possible. One thing's for sure, he could really use some of Hefty's bravery and strength right about now! Panting with nervousness, Brainy tries desperately to control his quivering.

Suddenly, with a terrifying roar Asmoday storms through the bush just at the edge of the forest.

"**Now I shall finally destroy you little blue bugs!**" The demon's voice booms across the large clearing.

"I'm afraid it won't be as easy as you think, Asmoday!" Brainy bravely retorts with boldness he don't know he had it in him

In an instant both Brainy and Brainette pull out their greatest weapon, the Beetle Gem. They lock the Ruby half with the Sapphire half together.

"**Beetle Gem, work your magic! Strike this demon down with a lightning kick!**" Brainy and Brainette chant.

A bolt of magical lightning streaks down and hits Asmoday from behind, knocking him down on his face. He raises his head and glowers at the smurfs.

"If that is all you little blue worms got then you are in for a really rough time." The demon snarls, his eyes glowing red.

Asmoday rises up and it is his turn to strike down on the smurfs, much like what he did to Hefty and Toughette. As in the first day when Asmoday attacked the smurfs, he creates a guest of wind that sends Brainy and Brainette hurtling back off their feet.

The two intelligent smurfs quickly get their bearings and rush to each other before the demon could create another gust of wind. Again they connect the two halves of the Gem.

"**Beetle Gem, with strength on our side; bring Asmoday down and take him for a ride!**" They both chant loudly.

A powerful ball of energy comes down and picks up Asmoday. It swings him around the field. He lands hard on the other end of the meadow. In frustration, Asmoday gets up on his feet and charges toward the smurfs. Before they could react, the demon slams his fists hard down of the ground. This creates a brief but violent earthquake, knocking both Brainy and Brainette off their feet once again.

As Brainette lands on her tail she accidentally drops her Ruby half of the Beetle Gem. She looks up and quickly moves to one side just as Asmoday leaps toward her. The evil demon slams his fists down right on top of the Ruby half of the Gem. A loud crack from the Ruby echoes across the field.

"And now, time for you little blue bugs to finally be out of my hair!" Asmoday growls, looking triumphantly down at Brainy and Brainette.

"**Faith be my strength! Turn this demon into stone!**" An unexpected female voice cries out of nowhere from behind the smurfs.

A flash of bright light goes over Brainy and Brainette's head and hits Asmoday squarely on the head, turning him instantly into stone.

"Where…?" Startled, Brainy looks over his shoulder.

"Amber! What are you doing here?" Brainette gasps upon recognizing the girl who is now approaching them from within the forest. She gasps even louder when she recognizes the object in Amber's hand. "And…where did you get the Scepter of Faith!"

"It is a family heirloom," Amber explains, blushing a little, "As far as I know it has been in my family from way back to the time when my Great-Great-Great-Great Grandmother, Gloria, lived."

"How is that possible? I saw that scepter been destroyed with my very own eyes!" The bespectacled smurfette exclaims, her jaw hanging open in disbelief.

"I guess this Scepter is pretty difficult to destroy," Amber explains sheepishly. "According to the legend the Scepter reappeared to my Great-Great-Great-Great Grandmother one day, and each time she tried to get rid of it the Scepter kept coming back. Finally she gave up trying to destroy it, and kept it in her possession for the rest of her life. She handed it down to her daughter, and her daughter passed it to her daughter and so on until it finally came to me."

"But isn't that Scepter dangerous?" Brainy stutters nervously, "I-I-I mean, I've been told that it was, er, is a very dangerous magic emblem."

Amber nods once. "Only if you don't know how to use it properly it can be, well, deadly," The young human female says seriously, "Thanks to all the Wiccan lessons, and note books that have been passed down with this Scepter, I have gained knowledge on how to control it."

The statue form of Asmoday begins to shake violently. It seems the demon is trying to get out of his stony prison.

"Uh, oh," Brainy quivers, "We need to do something before Asmoday breaks free!"

"Break? Hmm, that gives me an idea," Amber ponders. She waves her Scepter from side to side. "**Scepter of Faith, hear my call. Send Asmoday to all corners of the world; his rein will now fall!**" She chants.

A magical glow surrounds the statue demon. Suddenly, like an exploding firecracker, it shatters into a thousand pieces and shot into all directions of the world.

"There, with any luck Asmoday will never be assembled by anyone. He won't bother you smurfs ever again!" Amber says proudly, holding her Scepter close to her chest.

"I don't know how to thank you, Amber." Brainy cheers happily. "Even though you disobeyed us in coming out here…" He begins to scold her in a lecturing tone. But Brainette quickly hushes him and turns to addresses to Amber herself.

"Yes, you have used that Scepter well. Gloria would be proud of you if she was here to see you now!" Brainette praises the girl most sincerely.

"Really? Gee, thanks Brainette!" Amber could just dance with glee at that remark. It felt as if she had been waiting all her life to hear that from Brainette.

"Now that Asmoday is defeated, we can go back to his cave and… _Oh no!_" Brainette shrieks in dismay as she saw her Ruby half of the Beetle Gem. It has formed a large crack on it from when Asmoday slammed his fist on it.

"What is it, Brainette?" Brainy asks with concern, running up to his mate to see what the matter is.

"The Ruby half! It has been damaged during our fight with Asmoday!" Brainette cries, looking quite distressed.

**OoOoOoOoOoOo**

"…It was at that moment that we knew getting you free would not be possible…that is unless we could get the Beetle Gem fixed." Brainy was saying, leaning back in his chair.

"Um, Brainy?" Brainette says softly to her mate sitting next to her.

"Once again we are back in the library studying away to find something that could repair a broken magical stone…"

"Brainy," Brainette repeats in a slightly louder but still polite tone.

"It wasn't till we met someone that told us about a Medicine Man that lived in Africa that…"

"Brainy!" Brainette finally spoke up in a sharp but restrained tone that doesn't sound like she is screaming at him.

"What is it Brainette?" Brainy asks impatiently, sitting straight up and turning quickly to face her.

"Shh…" With a twinkling in her eyes, she inclined her head in one direction, inviting Brainy to look towards the couch. Sure enough, both Hefty and Toughette have fallen asleep.

"Well, that's just typical." Brainy grumbles, "Every time I tell a story, they conk out!"

Brainette tries to stifle a giggle, but fails. "I don't think they fell asleep because they thought your story was boring, Brainy. They really did try to stay wake. I knew that jet lag would catch up to them sooner or later!"

She gets up and walks over to the hallway closet near their bedroom. She pulls out two warm, fuzzy blankets, and walks back to the couch.

"I know. But still, it's just like them to fall asleep during my speeches!" Brainy says in a half joke, shaking his head as he gets up from his chair with the help of his cane.

The elderly smurf then helps Brainette cover Hefty and Toughette with the blankets. Brainette stops to glance down at the slumbering younger smurfs. Her forehead wrinkles with concern.

"Do you think they will be able to fit in with this new world, Brainy?" She asks, not even looking over to her mate.

Brainy pauses to think for a moment before answering.

"They are young smurfs yet, Brainette. I'm sure if we give them time, they'll catch up with all the new technology around them," He answers thoughtfully.

Brainette can't help fretting. "I know, but they seemed so confused, not to mention scared of everything. I've never seen them like that before."

Brainy sighs. "Well, there is still so much we need to show them, but that will have to wait till tomorrow, _after_ we get them cleaned up and changed." Brainy is about to add something more before a surge of pain stung him in the middle of his back. He stiffens up with a grimace. "Uhh!"

"Your back is bothering you again?" Brainette says with concern, noticing Brainy wincing in pain and holding the lower part of his back with one hand.

"It's just a little spasm. No need to worry," Brainy says, trying to shake off the pain.

"I _worry_, because your back muscles never had a chance to heal right!" His beloved mate says with a serious tone in her voice.

Brainy looks up at her with a soft smile. He can't help but to enjoy the fact she indeed cares so much for him.

"I'll have some aspirin, and sit down for a while." Brainy looks down at his watch and realizes how late it is. "Hm, it's bedtime. You should go down and check to see if the others need your help."

Brainette raises her eyebrow. "You sure you're going to be ok up here by yourself?" She says as she walks over to the kitchen.

"Of course," Brainy nods reassuringly. "Besides, someone has to stay here in case these two wake up and start wondering again."

"Ok," Brainette chuckles lightly and reaches up into the cupboard. She pulls out a small bottle that says 'Aspirin' on it. "Do you have enough tea, or would you like a glass of water?" She calls out before taking the bottle to Brainy.

"I have enough tea, thanks." He answers back, looking into his cup she had handed to him earlier this evening. Carefully, Brainy settles down into his comfy chair, wincing as he did so.

Brainette returns, gives him the aspirin bottle, kisses him on the cheek and leaves the room. Brainy takes two aspirins and, with the rest of the tea, he gulps them down. He then picks up a book from the same table where his cup of tea is. Before he starts reading Brainy looks over again to Hefty and Toughette as they slumber peacefully on the couch.

_Finally one less worry, one less burden to carry on my shoulders_, he thought happily. It has been too long…Brainy thought this day would never come, but now it has. Hefty and Toughette are back, safe and very much alive. The elderly smurf smiles broadly before he turns the page of his book and begins to read.

**Latin words:**

**Animus : **_courage, vivacity, bravery, will, spirit, soul._

**appello : **_to call, name, summon._

**Autus : **_increase, enlargement, growth._

**conforto : **_to strengthen much._

**contemno : **_to think meanly of, despise, condemn, hate._

**exsilium : **_exile, banishment._

**insons insontis** : _guiltless, innocent. _

**Labores solis : **_eclipse of the sun._

**lamia : **_witch, vampire._

**tutamen tutaminis : **_defence, protection_

**ventosus : **_full of wind, windy, breezy._


	11. The Makeover

**Chapter 11: The Make-Over**

_The village never looked so clean and cheerful with all the smurfs and smurfettes going about with their daily routines. Handy Smurf is repairing Nursette's roof. Melody is singing while Harmony is trying to keep in tune with her. Tattlerette is sneaking around the village in hopes of finding a good story to write down with Grouchy standing not too far off, grumbling under his breath but watching the sharp-eyed redhead smurfette rather warmly. Clumsy and Klutzette are giggling and talking about their rock collection they had taken up that day. Greedy and Gingerette are working together as they happily bake goodies for the big feast later. Cowgirl is helping Farmer Smurf with picking the fresh vegetables from the smurf garden. Astrologette is reading her cards and giving Dreamy Smurf a prediction that may come true in his lifetime. Ballette is practicing her ballet, while Poet is busy writing a love poem for her. Craftette is working on her wicker baskets while Painter Smurf paints a portrait of the landscape. Vanity is admiring his new hat with his trademark mirror while Valvette sits nearby, touching up her make-up beside him. Floraette is also sitting behind Vanity and Valvette as she tends to her gorgeous flower garden - the best one in the village. Smurfette, being the supportive and kind one of the village, is helping the raven- haired smurfette. Gosipette is standing beside Floraette and Smurfette, telling them the latest juicy news. Last of all Tailor and Sewette are designing some new clothes for every smurf and smurfette._

_Both Mama Smurf and Papa Smurf are standing with Grandpa Smurf and watching the activity in the Smurf Village, all three of them smiling proudly at the young smurfs and smurfettes getting along and cooperating with each other. It seems like a great day to be a smurf. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and everyone is happy. Danger seems so far away that nothing can go wrong._

_Suddenly, without notice, a huge, ominous-looking dark cloud appears. Like a blanket it covers the village in darkness. Hefty Smurf finds himself standing just out side of the village, squinting through the gloominess. He watches in horror as one by one all of his friends falls to the ground, already dying. With great effort, Hefty tries to run toward them, wanting to save them from dying. But a magical, invisible barrier prevents him from reaching them. He feels helpless as he watches them writhe about, suffering in extreme pain before slipping away into extinction. Desperately, Hefty slams his fists on the shield that separate him from his friends as hard as he can, but he is not strong enough to break its spell._

"_**You can't escape your destiny!"** A dark voice crows from the shadows behind the tough smurf._

_Hefty turns around, but all he sees is Brainy, Brainette, and the smurflings huddling in the middle of the field several feet away from him. An earthquake suddenly shakes the ground, causing it to break apart and leaving a group of helpless smurfs stranded on a small island suspended high above the abyss. They cling to each other tightly and look desperately at him. To Hefty it is a cry of help. He feels it is up to him to protect them. The problem is that they are now so far away. How can he get to them without falling into the abyss? They are in danger and, being the strongest smurf and a protector, he wants very much to rescue them. But he can't reach them. Despairing, Hefty feels that he is failing them as a protector. _

"_**You will belong to me!"** The same dark voice speaks again._

_Hefty spins around and looks all around him, trying to find the owner of that voice. Instead, he sees Toughette and the babies trapped within their crystallized prison._

"_**You are MY trophy!"**_

_Startled, Hefty looks up and finally locates the demon, Asmoday, hovering in the mid-air and grinning malevolently down at him. Lightning flickers in the sky behind the scary demon, illuminating his red eyes even brighter, as he lets out an evil laugh._

_Hefty tries to act brave, but realizes he is frightened. He is scared because this demon has destroyed his family, his home, and possibly his life. How could he ever hope to defeat him? He is only three apples high and has no real magical powers. The strong smurf can't remember the last time he ever felt this scared._

_Asmoday continues to laugh evilly as he reaches down for Hefty with his bony, sharp-clawed hand. Hefty tries to scream… But no sound comes out…_

**OoOoOoOoOoOo **

A blue hand touches Hefty on the shoulder. With a yelp the strong smurf wakes up. Blinking blearily, he looks up at the smurf that is touching him. For a moment Hefty does not recognize him. Who is he? It's not until his fuzzy memories come into focus does he realize he is looking at his now 657 year old brother, Brainy Smurf. Now that Hefty remembers, everything is falling into place like a puzzle, especially where he is and how he got here.

"It's ok…you just had a bad dream." Brainy said to his younger brother with worry in his eyes.

"Y-y-you will forgive me if I say it still feels like I'm in a bad dream?" Hefty says as he tries to get his bearing together.

"No offense taken, Hefty, there were some mornings when I myself felt the same way." The older smurf admits with a smile.

Hefty sits up and looks over to the other end of the couch. He sees his mate starting to wake up. Yawning widely, she looks right back at him with a worried expression.

"You ok?" The golden blond smurfette asks, seeing Hefty's odd expression on his face.

"Yeah, I guess…" Hefty answers with a hint of uncertainty. Toughette waits in case he wants to continue, but Hefty instead stretches a little before yawning as well and scratches the back of his head, making it clear he doesn't want to talk about whatever that is bothering him.

"Are you smurfs hungry? I can make up some breakfast for you," Brainy offers as he limps towards the kitchen.

"Sure, I guess." Toughette nods, still feeling a little groggy herself. "After being in hibernation for five hundred years does kind of make you a bit hungry, right Hefty?" She jokes, smiling at Hefty. He looks back at her, but does not smile at her sense of humor. This causes Toughette to be concerned; perhaps it has something to do with his nightmare he just had.

"Hey, Brainy," Toughette says, deciding to change the subject, "Sorry we kind of dozed off on you. Maybe we were tired after all?"

"That's ok, Toughette. It kind of brought back memories of the days of the Old Village," The elder smurf says with a half chuckle.

Hefty looks over to watch his older brother takes a couple of bread slices and puts them into a strange looking metal box. He pushes down on a black lever at one end before going over to the stove and put a kettle on one of the burners. How much had the old Brainy Smurf changed over the years? He seems more humble, wiser, and mature about himself now. No wonder Hefty had not recognized him at first! The stronger smurf also notices the way Brainy limps. It makes him curious. What had happened to cause Brainy to walk like that? Even Grandpa Smurf didn't limp like that, and he was over a thousand years old, so Hefty assumes it isn't age that is giving Brainy problems. He is about to ask Brainy about his limp when Toughette again speaks up.

"Brainy, where is Brainette?" The tough smurfette asks.

"Oh, she's, um, getting you both some new clothes," Brainy answers, looking a bit elusive for some reason, "After you have something to eat we will take you downstairs so you can get washed up and get changed into a new style of clothes."

"_Changed into a new style of clothes?_" Hefty cries out. "What's the matter with the clothes we have on now?"

"Well… They are, um, out of date so to speak." Brainy shrugs.

"Now they are o_ut of date?_ How can clothes be out of date?" The strong smurf grumbles in angry frustration. It's just typical of Brainy to want to change everything. He's not much different after all…he's still the same old Brainy Hefty used to know so well!

"Hefty please… Perhaps we should have a little change," Toughette pleads with Hefty, trying to sound calm, although a part of her does agree with her mate. "This could be a way to have a fresh start in our lives."

Hefty merely snorts and crosses his arms across his chest, looking quite annoyed.

"One thing's for sure," Toughette adds, almost in an afterthought, as she combs some knots out of her long hair with her fingers. "I definitely need to wash my hair. It probably looks a mess right now."

Hefty shakes his head in disbelief, but does not say anything for fear it will just result in them getting into an argument over how a _'smurfette's hair is her identity'_. A popping sound echoes from the kitchen. Hefty once again looks up to see Brainy taking two slices of bread that are now golden brown out of the metal box, and puts them on a plate. How does that work? Is it a magical box that can toast bread without having to hold it to an open fire? Right away the bespectacled elderly smurf starts spreading butter on each slice. He then takes the whistling kettle off the stove and pours the hot water into a tea pot.

Carefully, Brainy brings the toasts on a plate over to Hefty and Toughette and sets it down in front of them before heading back to the kitchen.

"I hope you don't mind, I made more of the Jasmine Tea from last night." The elder says, pouring the tea into two cups.

"That's fine, Brainy," Toughette replies. She takes a slice of toast and bites into it. Munching, she looks over to Hefty. He still seems quiet, eying his now older brother puttering around in the kitchen. What could be bothering him so much? He hasn't even touched his toast yet.

"Hefty, you better eat something," The tough smurfette whispers encouragingly to him, picking up and offering an untouched slice of toast to him.

At last Hefty sighs and takes his slice and looks into her eyes for a minute before taking a bite out of the warm golden brown toast. For Toughette, one brief moment is all she needs to guess what could be bothering her mate. Her own memories are clearing up, especially on that day when they talked by the creek. It was before they went with their then younger, intelligent siblings to rescue the smurflings from Asmoday. She figures that perhaps he is still worrying that he won't be able to protect anyone if danger comes their way again. If so, it would be no wonder he seems so quiet!

Knowing words are almost pointless at this time, Toughette does the next best thing. She snuggles up to Hefty to show that she will always be by his side, no matter what. Hefty shows how much he appreciates her here by leaning his head up against hers.

Brainy looks up at the young strong smurfs from the kitchen counter. He is very happy that Hefty and Toughette are back with them, safe and sound, but at the same time he is very worried about their health mentally and physically. The intellectual elder can only imagine what these two could be going through right now. Sure the last five hundred years had been a struggle for him and the other smurfs, but if he could survive, so can Hefty and Toughette, he thought. Brainy looks down at the cups of tea momentarily before picking them up with one hand while gripping the cane with the other hand in order to walk back to the couch without too much difficulty.

"Here you go. This should tide you both over till dinner." The red-capped bespectacled elder says, offering the steaming cups to the young smurfs. Thus done, he hobbles over to his chair to rest his aching back. It takes the young smurfs a while to realize what he had just said.

"Dinner?" Hefty shoots his brother a shocked look.

"How long have we been sleeping here Brainy?" Toughette asks, also with the look of surprise at the Brainy.

"Uh, well, I'd say since about 8 o'clock last night." Brainy notices the look of disbelief on the two young smurf's faces. "Sometimes jet lag does have a huge toll on people, plus you two have undergone a lot of mental and physical stress over the past 24 hours."

"Okay," Hefty says after a moment, "so what time is it now then?"

Brainy glances down at his watch and looks at his brother once more. "It's about 2:45pm now."

"Is that a fact? And how would you know exactly what time it is?" The strong smurf raises his eyebrow skeptically at Brainy.

The smart elder takes a deep breath before pointing at a silver, circular object strapped around his wrist.

"A watch. It tells me, and anyone else who wears one, the time, and even today's date…among other things that one can program them to do."

Hefty slowly shakes his head. Brainy is not making any sense at all! He turns over to his girlfriend, "Do you understand what he is saying?"

"Did we ever understand what he says?" She retorts.

"Good point."

Brainy can't help but to smirk and shake his head with some amusement, "Relax you two. I'm sure you will catch on to all this new technology soon enough…I hope." He finishes in a nervous, barely audible voice.

The door suddenly opens and Sorcerer Smurf walks in. "Elder, I took the Beetle Gem and put it back in the safe as you requested." He says cheerfully, strolling right over to Brainy. Just before he speaks again Sorcerer notices the young smurfs who are now wide awake.

"Hey, you're up! Awesome!" Sorcerer declares happily.

"Awesome…?" Both Hefty and Toughette say in puzzlement. They again look at each other to see if there is any hope that one of them might understand what is going on.

"Sorcerer, is there another reason why you've come up here?" Brainy asks, getting the impression that the young smurf is not helping Hefty and Toughette's adjustments to the new surroundings around them at all.

"Oh, Elder Brainette wanted me to tell you that she has everything ready, and you can bring Hefty and Toughette downstairs anytime." The young smurf answers.

Brainy smiles. "That is good." He turns to the young, thoroughly confused smurfs sitting on the couch. "Just let us know when you are ready and we will head down to our spas."

"I don't know about you, Hefty, but I'm ready." Toughette says in an almost excited tone. She takes the final sip from her tea before placing it on the coffee table in front of her and stands up. "Are you coming?"

"Whatever…" Hefty sighs, takes one last sip of the tea and puts the cup on the table. "Let's get this over with."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"So here is the smurf's spa…the smurfettes get their own spa for, heh-heh, obvious reasons." Nat Smurf tells Hefty as they, along with Brainy, and Sorcerer Smurf, walk into a well lit room.

Hefty gets a good look around the room they had just entered. One door goes into a section of the spa for the washroom, and another doorway leading into a room with a large tub. There is another door that leads to room that held many stalls of showers. Over to the left wall, towards yet another hallway is a row of six lockers of dark silver-blue with each of the smurfs' names on them, including Hefty's.

Nat walks over to the locker with Hefty's name on it, and opens it.

"This is your locker Hefty. We have put your very own towel and a change of wardrobe, and shoes inside. Now we didn't know what you would prefer to wear so we put in a few options for you that you can have a look at after your wash." The gentle elder smurf explains as he pulls out a light brown, clean towel from one of the hooks in the locker and closes the door.

Hefty, however, notices something else. He tilts his head to one side and peers down the hallway. Beside the six lockers where Nat is now walking away are more lockers, albeit a different color of neon-blue. The hallway is very long with two rows of lockers on each side. If Hefty had to estimate on how many lockers there are, he'd have to say there would be just over a hundred of them. This also made him wonder why Snappy and Slouchy are not here. Not that he needs their help getting washed up, it is just that the fact he has not seen them since last night after arriving at this strange place where the survivors now live makes it seem weird. However, Nat had explained to him earlier that Snappy and Slouchy has other things to do, but they will meet up with them later on. The strong smurf saw that some of the closer lockers have names on them, too, but Hefty is too far away to read them. He is about to walk up to one of the neon-blue lockers so he could get a closer look at some of the names, but Brainy quickly put his arm around his shoulder and guide him over to one of the rooms with the tub and the showers.

"Come this way, Hefty," The smurf Elder is saying, "Would you prefer to have a shower, or a bath?"

"Huh? I don't understand," Hefty shrugs, "Just lead me to your watering well and I'll get my self washed up." .

Both Nat and Sorcerer start snickering.

"What's so funny!" The strong smurf demands, placing his fists forcefully onto his hips and glaring at them in annoyance.

"Sorry, Hefty, but we don't use watering wells to get our water anymore," Nat replies, chuckling.

"You don't? Then what **_do_** you use?" Hefty retorts, looking frustrated.

"We have a system called plumbing," Brainy explains, heading over to the tub and reaching for the tap. "See…water. With plumbing we can now simply draw the water in from the creek instead of hauling buckets back and forth from a well like we used to in the past." So saying, Brainy demonstrates how to fill up the tub with just a twist of the faucet and the water comes running freely out from the tap like a miniature waterfall.

"Whoa…magic…" Hefty is beside himself with amazement. Never has he witnessed anything like this before!

"Actually the term is called 'technology'," Brainy corrects him. "And that is not all. You can add hot water without boiling it before running it into the tub." He says, turning a knob on another faucet.

Soon the steam starts rising from the pouring water. Out of curiosity, Hefty had to test and see what temperature it is. So, he puts his hand through the running water and is shocked that it indeed very warm…almost too warm for comfort. With a jerk Hefty pulls his hand back before it could scald his blue skin.

"Sorry Hefty, I guess it is a little too hot. That's ok," Brainy says sheepishly. He began adjusting the knob. "We just turn this knob and you will get more cold water to cool the temperature a bit."

Hefty watches carefully as Brainy does indeed bring the water down to a more comfortable temperature. He takes a deep breath as he begins to try and calm himself down. Again he is overwhelmed with the strange technology that is around him. He doesn't think he will ever get used to all this!

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The smurfette's spa looks similar with many rooms that have showers and washrooms, but with a more cheerful, colorful and floral presentation to it. Parts of it are even constructed to look similar to the spa the smurfettes had from their original home near the volcano.

Toughette sits in the tub filled with fluffy bubbles floating around her. She has already started scrubbing her hair with a nice shampoo that smells of jasmine flowers. As the tough smurfette continues to scrub, she looks around the room warily.

"I know it's not quite like our spa back in our home village, but with the flick of this switch…" Brainette says as she pushes a button on the edge of the tub. All of a sudden the water begins to bubble, causing Toughette to jolt in shock.

"See, now it kind of feels like the Hot Springs back home." The elderly smurfette smiles wryly.

"Isn't this fun, Toughette?" Sorcerette asks in a giddy tone.

"I don't think '_fun_' is the correct word that I would use to describe this!" Toughette protests nervously as she curls her legs up to her chest.

"How about I turn this off, Toughette? You can try it again another time when you are more used to everything," Brainette suggests, seeing Toughette's discomfort. The older smurfette pushes the button again, causing the bubbles to stop.

Toughette lets out a sigh of relief and leans back.

"Sassette, Sorcerette, why don't we put away these bottles before we help Toughette rinse out her hair and get her into her new wardrobe," Brainette orders, handing the other two smurfettes standing nearby a bottle from the table beside the tub.

Toughette watches as Brainette, Sassette, and Sorcerette go around putting away the bottles and a container of bubble bath soap. She makes an annoyed look as she reflect on what Brainette just said. How hard is it for her to rinse her hair out? Toughette has been washing her own hair since she was a smurfling. Then again, everything in this new world is so new, so different from what she was used to in the past - long, long time ago. Toughette leans back to look out into the hallway, she allows herself to soak in the water when something catch her attention. From where she is sitting she can see the hallway with the hundred or so lockers, in neon-pink color. She's seen them earlier, and now she wonders again whom those lockers belong to. She had tried to ask Brainette about it, but the elderly smurfette is mysteriously elusive. With a deep sigh, Toughette leans back and wonders how her mate is doing in the smurf's spa.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Hefty glances at himself in the mirror. He has to admit he feels better after having the wash, but as for his new outfit… The new white shorts, and red sneakers he chose make for a comfortable fit, but the black t-shirt is another story. He had tried on other tops, and none of them were comfortable enough. This one is close, but the short sleeves are far from his style, and he does not like them. It could be that the short sleeves are hiding his heart tattoo on each of his arms. It is a shame that the smurfs didn't have a sleeveless shirt or something.

"What's wrong Hefty?" Nat asks anxiously, "Don't tell me there is something wrong with this outfit too… This is all we have for you to try on at the moment!"

"Well, its ok," Hefty admits grudgingly, "But this sleeves I'm having a problem with."

"Now what?" Brainy grumbles tiredly. If he has to sit on this bench any longer, the elderly smurf feels his back will simply break in agony.

"Well, first of all, the sleeves are hiding my tattoos, and they restrict movement in my arms. How am I to get a decent workout in this?" The strong smurf complains.

"Oh, of course," Brainy throws up his hands with a sarcastic remark, grimaces and leans his head forward into one hand. The pain in his back is causing him to become very cranky.

"I-I could try and find you a tank top, Hefty. It's like the shirt you are wearing, but with no sleeves." Nat suggests tentatively.

Hefty frowns and shakes his head. "Ah, don't bother I'll take care of this problem right now." The strong smurf mumbles.

He reaches up to one sleeve and with a firm yank he rips it off. Thus done, Hefty reaches up to the other one and does the same thing. Now with more flexibility, Hefty looks again into the mirror and swings his arms freely back and forth to his sides.

"Much better." He declares with a satisfied nod.

"Dude, that look is SO you!" Sorcerer Smurf cheers suddenly.

Puzzled, Hefty glances over his shoulder at the magical smurf suspiciously. "You talk strange, young smurf."

"Good! If you're happy, then we're happy! Now let's go see if the smurfettes are ready yet!" Brainy says in a cranky tone, relieved to finally getting up from the bench.

The smurfs head out of the smurfs' spa to see the smurfettes already standing waiting for them.

"It's about time." Sassette rolls her eyes skyward.

"Jeez, and they say smurfettes take a thousand years to get ready…" Sorcerette jokes to her elder smurfettes.

"Hey, we had problems with the wardrobe, ok!" Sorcerer protests, "How about you guys? Did you have any troubles with getting Toughette dressed?"

"Does it look like we had any troubles?" Sorcerette smirks proudly, addressing the new-and-improved Toughette.

Toughette steps up so the other smurfs can see her in her new outfit. She has chosen black shorts with a two different color tank tops, one light pink and the other black to match her shorts. She has a very light grey, almost white, smurf hat and sneakers. To complete her new outfit, Toughette has light pink color wrist guards, and leg warmers."

"Well? Do I look modern yet?" Toughette says with a sigh, placing her hands onto her hips.

All the smurfs, especially Hefty take one look at Toughette's new outfit and their eyes nearly pop out in amazement. They never had noticed till now how smurfy her body is…it is so well formed! Usually her old grey smurf suit hides most of her features, and when she wears a gown during the Blue Moon Ball, it gives her a feminine look, but still doesn't show much of her muscle tone.

"Maybe there is something to these new clothes after all," Hefty whispers approvingly to the other smurfs, most of them could hardly keep their eyes off of the tough but comely smurfette. They all nod happily in unison to Hefty's comment.

"You are all such typical smurfs!" Toughette huffs, shaking her head in disbelief.

Without warning a strange, musical noise echoes in the hall. Hefty and Toughette both look frantically around to see where it comes from. It isn't till they notice that everyone was looking at Brainy. At that moment, the strong duo realize that the noise is coming from him. Brainy makes a grim face before reaching for an object attached to his belt, peers at it in his hand before flipping the top part up and putting it to his ear.

"Yeah, Snappy?" He says into on end of the strange thing. "Yes, they are all washed and dressed… Sure, no problem, we will meet you outside so Hefty and Toughette can meet them. See you soon." With that said; Brainy closes the object and reconnects it to his belt. He looks up at Hefty and Toughette with a big grin.

"Them?" Hefty gasps. What could Brainy possibly mean by _them_? Mystified, he strong smurf looks around to the other smurfs, and they too have wide grins on their faces. He again turns to his smarter, older brother. "What's going on, Brainy?" Hefty growls.

"Nothing, really… Just another surprise we would like to show you." The red-capped older smurf says, still grinning so widely it practically split his face in two.

"Oh no, not more surprises…" Toughette whines, more to herself than to anyone in particular.

"Trust us, Toughette, you will love this surprise!" Sassette coos, putting her arm reassuringly around Toughette's shoulder as she and the other smurfs guide Hefty and Toughette down the hall that leads to field outside.


	12. The Big Surprise

**Chapter 12: The Big Surprise**

It is very warm outside with hardly a cloud to be seen in the horizon, and birds can be heard twittering sweetly in the woods. It is truly beautiful afternoon. But Hefty and Toughette are not there to bask in the pleasant weather, however. Instead, they are standing there with their jaws hanging open in shock, hardly believing their own eyes. How can this be possible? They look, rub their eyes and look again to make sure their eyes are not playing tricks on them. For what they are seeing is an open field teeming with smurflings. Lots of young smurflings - possibly a little over a hundred little smurfs and a little over a hundred little smurfettes, all running around laughing and shouting gleefully as they frolic about in a huge playground built especially just for them.. Some of them are swinging merrily on swings. Others are riding in the merry-go-around. Several youngsters are sliding down a long, twisting slid that is attached to a large jungle gym, while a few others are kicking a dodge ball around in a farthest part of the field. At the other end of the field there are a small group of young smurfettes just sitting in a circle, gossiping and giggling amongst themselves on a topic about the latest fashion.

"Smurflings?" Toughette gasps in total disbelief.

"But how? And where did they all come from?" Hefty adds, just as bewildered as she is. He looks over at Brainy who is peering fondly at the blue-skinned youngsters playing around.

"A place called the 'Enchanted Garden'." Brainy answers absently.

"What?" Hefty glances at his older brother carefully.

The smart elder smurf turns and smiles at Hefty. Standing behind him is the rest of the adult smurfs, who are grinning hugely at Hefty's and Toughette's stunned reaction at the unexpected sight of the small smurflings. The red-capped elderly brother places a hand on Hefty's shoulder and says, "I'll explain later. But first, the smurflings are anxious to meet the two of you."

"They are?" The strong smurf is taken back by what Brainy said.

"Sure," Sassette replies cheerfully. "We have told them all about you, and if it weren't for your sacrifice that the future of all younger smurfs would not be possible."

"You did?" Toughette gulps. She again looks wonderingly at all the smurflings playing in the field. The youngsters seem oblivious to the presence of the adult onlookers. She tries to count them, but couldn't, as the kids are too active to stay still.

"H-How many are there of them?" She finally asks in a small voice.

Brainette calculates for her younger sister. "There are 115 young smurfs and 115 young smurfettes," she replies, "A total of 230 smurflings."

Hefty and Toughette gasp in amazement. "Wow…" is all Hefty can say while Toughette can only blink rapidly.

"Yeah, tell me about it. They can be a real handful at times too." Snappy admits, shaking his head.

Brainy takes two steps towards the field and addresses the youngsters. "Smurflings! Smurflings! Over here please!" He calls out loudly. Almost instantly the youngsters stop what they are doing, and every young face of the smurflings looks up expectantly towards their red-capped elder. Brainy beckons to them. They come running right away to him and, as soon as they reach him, they skid to a stop in front of him. To show they are ready to listen, they all sit down promptly, cross-legged on the grass, and watch him quite attentively.

"The time has finally come, my little ones," Brainy begins eagerly, "The Sleeping Smurfs have awakened. And today they are here to meet all of you today, and to become a part of our family!" At this joyous announcement the smurfling cheer wildly.

"_The Sleeping Smurfs?_" Toughette whispers to Sassette standing beside her.

"Yeah, well, we didn't know how else to explain the condition you two were in." Sassette shrugs.

"Smurflings," Brainy continues to the young smurflings, "Meet Hefty and Toughette! They were our protectors from the Old Village, and they will be our protectors again today!"

Again the little smurflings cheer, even louder than before.

"Protectors?" Hefty whispers in disbelief.

"Sure, why not," Brainy whispers back to him, "Even when you two were in Asmoday's clutch it still felt like you two were protecting us."

Hefty is stunned. He is unsure what to think of all of this.

Snappy steps up to the red-capped elder. "Brainy, it's getting close to dinner time," He whispers in the older smurf's round ear, "I think Nat, Slouchy, Sassette, Sorcerer, Sorcerette, and I should go to the main kitchen and start preparing the food. You and Brainette can show Hefty and Toughette how to shepherd the smurflings into the dinning hall."

"Good idea, Snappy." Brainy nods approvingly. Snappy turns and goes off with his companions in tow back to the building.

"Ok, smurflings! It is getting close to dinner time now," The bespectacled old smurf orders, "I want to see each of you to start lining up right now, and get ready to head into the spas and get cleaned up!"

Right away each of the smurflings scrambles to their feet and quickly forms two long lines. One line is all the little smurfs while the other line is the little smurfettes.

At once Brainette takes charge. "Toughette, you can come with me. We will take the little smurfettes to our spa," She orders, "And we'll leave it to Hefty and Brainy to take the little smurfs to their own spa."

"Uh, ok," The golden blond smurfette nods, looking rather uncertain.

"Come on, Hefty." Brainy jerks his head in the direction of the spa building where they would usher the young male smurflings over there.

Hefty bites his lower lip and watches the little smurfs march by him, with his older brother leading them into the building. He notices that one by one each of the young smurfs would glance up at him with something akin to awe and smile shyly at him. He feels awkward, but nevertheless he flashed a crooked smile back at them. It is not long before he finally takes up the rear and follows them inside.

Toughette stands at one end of the spa as she watches all the little smurfettes washing their faces and hands. It almost feels like the old days when she was growing up in the Smurfette Village. One of the little smurfettes walks casually by, scrubbing her round face and hands dry with a towel. This little one is wearing a pretty velvet color dress and has a long brunette hair tumbling past her shoulders. She stops to look curiously and keenly at Toughette before breaking out into a warm smile.

"You are very pretty," the young smurfette declares, "I especially like your hair."

Toughette is caught off guard by this comment. Then she blushes. "Ah, uh, ah… Thank you." She stutters awkwardly, "You, um, look very pretty too. In fact, you kind of remind me of a sister I once had a long time ago."

"Really?" The little smurfette's face lit up, apparently thrilled to hear this. "Do you think someday you can let me comb your hair?" She asks hopefully.

Toughette thinks about it and shrugs. "Sure, why not."

"Cool!" The smurfling giggled happily and tosses her towel into a laundry bin then waving cheerfully at Toughette. The little smurfette skips away to join the rest of her playmates as they wait patiently in a long line to be ushered into the dining room.

Toughette raises her eyebrows. "Cool…?" This new word puzzles Toughette. What did she mean? Is the room too cold for her? But it's not at all that cold! She looks over to Brainette, hoping perhaps the elderly smurfette could shed some light on this odd way the little smurfette spoke to her.

Seeing her confused face, Brainette lets out a chuckle and leans over to Toughette. "_'Cool'_ means a smurfy thing, Toughette. Looks like you made her excited that you'll let her comb your hair someday!"

Toughette shakes her head and shrugs. "Whatever. I guess it's the small things in life that thrill us the most." She says, more to herself than to anyone else in particular.

Hefty watches curiously and with some amusement as Brainy walks up and down next to the long row of sinks, instructing each smurfling to wash their faces good…REALLY good, and that means behind their ears, too! After the smurflings did as Brainy told them, they put away their used washcloths and wet towels in the laundry bin and hurry off to line up at the door, ready to be led into the dinning room. Hefty is simply amazed at how organized everything is. Life in the Old Village even wasn't this organized! But he is not standing there idle…he managed, at least, to help some of the fumbling smurflings dry off before they can run off to join the long line. For some odd reason he thought he notices that some of the smurflings bear more than passing resemblance to his brethren back in the old day. Then again, it may just be his imagination, after all.

Soon all the freshly-cleaned smurflings are ready for dinner. Brainy gives Hefty a nod before they proceed to lead everyone into the dinning room.

The smurflings, both male and female, have pretty much take themselves to their assigned seating arrangement, sitting in three long rows of tables in a spacious dining room. Brainy and Brainette get Hefty and Toughette to sit with them at the main table at the end of the room. It is a good spot which gives Hefty and Toughette a clear view of every corner in the room, perfect for spotting any mischievous activity should it occurs during the meals.

For a moment Hefty and Toughette, sitting across from their elder siblings, look quietly around, while the young smurflings' chattering and giggling voices are echoing up and down the room as they wait for the food to be served to them. The two strong smurfs are still very much overwhelmed with all of this technology and the new, unfamiliar way of life. They also couldn't get over the fact there are so many lively young smurflings, something they had never expected! Finally Hefty and Toughette can hold back no longer and turn to look earnestly at Brainy and Brainette.

"I just don't get it. How did these smurflings come to exist?" Hefty finally asks them.

The elderly smurfs glance at each other with a knowing grin. Then, with a deep breath, Brainette responds.

"Ok," she says, "As you know, the original villages in which we came from both had either a Mama Smurf, or a Papa Smurf, right?"

"Right…" Hefty and Toughette slowly nod their heads.

"And originally there were a hundred smurfs and a hundred smurfettes in each of the villages as well; do you see where I'm going with this?"

"I think so…" Hefty lifts his hand up to scratch his head. He thinks carefully on what the elderly smurfette is trying to say.

"So, from what I calculated there had been some additions to the Smurf Village such as; Baby – a.k.a. Sorcerer Smurf, Smurfette, and Sassette. Later Grandpa Smurf came back to the village to retire from his journey of exploring the world. Basically there were a total hundred and four smurfs in the Smurf Village, right?"

"Ah…" The strong smurf is trying to follow the mathematical equation of how much the Old Smurf Village grew over the years before meeting the Smurfette Village.

"Just nod your head, Hefty." Brainy sighs knowing that they could be all day to wait for Hefty to understand the equation fully.

With a mildly annoyed sigh, the young strong smurf does as he is told and nods his head wordlessly to Brainette.

"And now we take away Brainy, you – Hefty, and the five smurflings," Brainette continues, "From the smurfettes Toughette, Babette – a.k.a. Sorcerette, and me. A total of ten smurfs, which leaves ninety-eight smurfs and ninety-eight smurfettes, including Grandpa, Mama and Papa Smurf, that perished by the plaque."

"Okay…But what does this have to do with the smurflings that exist now?" Toughette asks, raising her eyebrow at her older sister, and jerking her thumb toward the little smurflings behind her.

"Be patient. I'm getting to that part." Brainette waves her hand vigorously to ward off any more questions the golden blond smurfette may have. Again the bespectacled elderly smurfette takes a deep breath before speaking once more. "You see, Toughette, we feel pretty sure that those smurflings are reincarnations of each of the smurfs and smurfettes from the Old Village."

As Brainette had expected, Hefty's and Toughette's reaction is immediate. Hefty is drinking a glass of ice cold water that had been served to him earlier; when he hears the word "reincarnation" he swallows the wrong way and quickly starts choking loudly. Toughette's jaws drops open and her eyes become round as saucers. "Reincarnations!" She cried incredulously. For a long moment they stared at the Brainy and Brainette, unsure if they understand the word correctly.

"Yes, you heard right," Brainy replies. "Think of it like when Nat, Snappy, and Slouchy fell in Father Time's clock tower and they became smurflings again. Well, this way it's a little different though." Brainy shifts in his seat (his back is bothering him again) and tries to explain clearly for Hefty and Toughette to understand the new concept. "They are, in a term, re-smurfed. This is a whole new life for them. These smurflings know nothing of Gargamel, Hogatha, or any of the other humans that hunted us and tried to destroy us back in the old days. This is their chance to start over. To have a fresh start in life without the old dangers we once endured."

"Mind you, there are new dangers that we must protect the smurflings from these days," Brainette adds, "In about two to three next weeks, Sorcerer and Sorcerette will want to take you two on a tour of the city. They will show you some of the fun places that you will want to visit, as well as the dangers to avoid. Not only that, but we've asked them to make sure and introduce you to Sarah, one of the Great-Great-Great-Great grandkids of Gloria. There are a few human friends we like to stay in contact with, but you will meet them eventually."

Hefty shakes his head as if to clear his muddled brain. "Ok, bear with me now," he begins, holding up one finger in the air, "I may be a little slow when it comes to math, but you said there is approximately 230 smurflings. That seems a little more then the original number of smurfs and smurfettes that, um, perished over five hundred years ago." Hefty finishes, finally doing a mental count of what has been explained to him.

The elderly smurfette elder nods agreeably. "Right. For each ninety-eight smurfs and smurfettes there are an extra seventeen. Why? We are not too sure. It could possibly be that they are reincarnations of some of our original ancestors, or perhaps there are brand new souls starting a new journey into life as smurfs and living among us. But that is just our theory."

"But how is it…How do you…" Toughette struggles to get out her question. "What makes you think these young smurflings are our siblings?"

Brainy leans forward over the table, putting his elbows on the wooden surface and placing his head comfortably on top of his folded hands. "Just look at them, Toughette. Look into their eyes." Brainy says earnestly now, "Each pair of eyes tells their identity. Trust us; they are the smurfs and smurfettes we once knew in the past."

"E-Even Papa…?" Hefty asks with a catch in his throat.

"Yes…Even Papa Smurf and Mama Smurf." Brainy nods, smiling. "They are here with us, along with the rest of them."

"Although, we call them by new names," Brainette interrupts. "Grandpa Smurf is called Adventurer Smurfling, Papa Smurf is now Apprentice Smurfling, and Mama Smurf is known as Apprenticette. We found out that those were the original names they had before becoming parental figures to the rest of us smurfs and smurfettes. There was even a Nanny Smurf, but she disappeared and was never heard from again in the Smurfette Village. But now," Brainette points toward the table across the room in the farthest corner. "See, she is over there with the other smurflings as well, too. Her name is Adventurette."

Hefty and Toughette sit there for a long while, too stunned to think of anything else to say. It is almost too much for them to bear it.

Toughette is the first to recover. "Do they remember anything from the days of the Old Village?" She finally asks, gazing at all those smurflings who are being served their dinner by Sassette and the other adult smurfs.

"No, Toughette. Like we said before they are reincarnations, meaning they don't know anything of their previous lives…none at all." Brainette said, shaking her head sadly.

Brainy notices the disappointment in Hefty's and Toughette's eyes and tries to soften their dismal mood. "Of course, we have noticed that a few of them would experience what we have dubbed the '_Déjà vu' _effect," he explains, "This is when one of the smurflings may find something familiar to what they do, for example little Craftette would be making something with construction paper, or building something out of clay, and says 'it just feels familiar doing this'."

"Craftette?" Toughette said in almost a whisper. Just hearing her sister's name brings tears into her eyes.

"Yes. She is sitting at the end seat over at the third table near the back wall. Behind you." Brainette replies, pointing toward somewhere behind her young blond sister. "Can you see her?"

Toughette quickly turns around and looks over to where Brainette had pointed. There she sits, a cute little smurfling with the orange-red hair and light pink hat, talking to one of her playmates. As Toughette watches, the young smurfette turns her head slightly and she gets a good look at her little face. Toughette gasps softly. What Brainy and Brainette said is true. Little Craftette really does look like her creative sister from the Old Smurfette Village! Toughette feels like crying for sheer joy of seeing her beloved sister once again.

"I see her…" The tough smurfette said emotionally before turning back to Brainy and Brainette. "I really see her."

Brainy and Brainette did not say anything. All they could do is smile proudly and nod their heads.

"So all of these smurflings have the original names then?" Hefty asks as he glances around the room and studies each face of the smurflings thoughtfully.

"Not all of them, Hefty." Brainy answers bluntly. "There are some smurflings that apparently evolved, so they bear new names as well."

"How so?" The strong smurf questions with a puzzled frown.

"Well…" The elder smurf thinks for a moment to find the right words to explain this part of the theory. "Okay, let's see… you remember Poet Smurf and how he likes to recite his poems to us from the old days, right?"

"Right."

"Ok, these days some poets recite his poems in a different way, which is called rapping."

"Wrapping? He make presents instead now?" Hefty gives Brainy a bewildered look.

"No." Brainy snorts. "Not wrapping as in making gifts. It's called rapping as in talking in rhymes with some kind of musical beat to it. I can't really explain it because I barely understand it myself. It's strange, but that's just how some poets express themselves these days. Anyway, that is what Poet Smurf is into now, so his new name is Rapper Smurfling."

"Oh…" Hefty shakes his head in disbelief. How is he ever going to get used to all of this new and crazy stuff, let alone understand this reincarnation thing? "So who else has changed, or as you put it, evolved?"

"Well, Greedy Smurf, for one, he is now called Chef Smurfling, and Gingerette is called Bakerette." Brainy answers.

"Ballette is now known as Jazzette, and Painter Smurf has evolved to Photographer Smurfling." Brainette adds.

"You remember Smurfette…?" Brainy leans in closer to the young smurfs.

"Yeah." Hefty and Toughette nod in unison.

"She is now called Enamorette. Tailor Smurf changed to Designer Smurfling. Dreamy Smurf evolved up to Astro Smurfling. And even Wild Smurf changed. He is now called Skater Smurfling. He likes to ride on what looks like a board with wheels on it. Strange enough, you still won't be able to understand what he says. He picked up a different language which is called skate slang." The red-capped elder rolls his eyes skyward.

"As for Jokey Smurf," Brainette continues, "Being obsessed with handing out exploding presents, he is now called Boomer Smurfling, and trust me he gets into way more trouble now then he did back in the old days." She shakes her head in exasperation at the recent memory. "Just last year the little bugger thought it was a big joke to flush something called a _cherry bomb_ in one of the toilets. When it exploded we all thought it was World War III outside. This resulted in flooding both the smurfs' and smurfettes' spas, as well as all the kitchens. He's still grounded for doing that, by the way." She points out in a finish.

"Harmony, of all smurfs, even evolved." Brainy speaks up. "He is known as Jammer Smurfling now. He no longer plays the trumpet, but something called an electric guitar. It's louder, and much more annoying, especially that he still can't play in tune. Lazy Smurf has changed to Dozy Smurfling, and even Grouchy isn't Grouchy anymore. He is called Moody Smurfling..."

Brainy stops once he realizes that Hefty is not looking at him but seems transfixed on something somewhere else. He looks over to what his strong young brother is looking at. At one of the tables, closer to where the adults are seated, sits a certain young smurfling who is busy drawing some kind of design on a piece of paper. He is noticeably holding down a ruler with a right hand and drawing straight lines along it with his left hand. The little smurfling stops as soon as Sorcerer places a plate of food in front of him. The little smurfling grins up at Sorcerer, who cheerfully gives him a noogie on his head. Before the smurfling could pick up his fork to start eating, the first thing he did is put his pencil behind his left ear. This movement is so recognizable to Hefty who is watching him avidly that his heart skipped a beat.

"Handy…that smurfling is Handy…" He gasps softly.

"Yes, Hefty. That is Handy. But like some of the other smurfs, he too evolved. His name is now Tech Smurfling. Even though he is only 30 years old, like the rest of these smurflings, Tech is very bright and loves to invent mechanical things." The smart elder smurf explains.

"Here you go, guys." Nat says, placing each plate of food in front of Hefty, Toughette and the elderly couple.

Hefty blinks, glances at Nat who is now pushing the cart loaded with food in another direction, and turns his attention down at his plate of food. He picks up a fork, takes a careful bite and nods approvingly. Toughette seems to think the same thing, too. The food is SO much better than what they ate on the airplane!

As soon as Nat and the older smurflings finished handing out the food to the youngsters they come over with their own plates and sit down with Brainy, Brainette, and the strong smurfs to start eating

"So, what do you think of our little surprise, Toughette?" Sassette asks with a big grin to the young golden blond smurfette sitting next to her. .

"Well, they certainly are cute," Toughette says nonchalantly as she takes another bite.

Sorcerer smirks. "Bet you wouldn't have called them cute thirty years ago…yup, that's right, they sure stunk the place up with all their cuteness." He sarcastically says. Sorcerette starts laughing out loud. No doubt she is remembering those days clearly.

"Sorcerer…" Brainy growls in a warning tone.

"Well they did. The smell nearly drove us out into the woods!" The magical smurf chuckles.

This time Snappy, Slouchy, Nat, and Sassette couldn't keep in their giggles. They indeed remember how they were all very busy back in those days trying to keep the babies clean.

"Gee, maybe it was a good thing we missed that, right Hefty…? Toughette chuckles, turning to her boyfriend. She notices right away that his attention is somewhere else. "Hefty?"

"Huh?" Hefty turns his head to look at Toughette. He had been staring at the smurfling now known as Tech. It is still all too much for him to fully believe in this reincarnation stuff yet. As it were, Hefty had been listening only half-heartedly to the discussion about the smurfling's baby years and had missed Toughette's remark about how fortunate that the two of them missed those days. Toughette had to repeat what she said earlier.

Slowly the strong smurf nods his head, "Yeah, good thing..." Hefty trails off and again turns his head back and look at the smurflings who are sitting at each table, eating their dinner and having conversations with each other. Mentally, Hefty tells himself that there are new reasons for him to be here now. These smurflings certainly will need a protector, no doubt…but can he be the protector he hopes to be? All the same, a strong sense of purpose is already growing inside him. The young smurflings clearly need him, and he now has the chance to be there for them. Not like when he and the other smurfs ran into Asmoday. And Hefty is determined, more than ever, to learn all he can of this new world in order to be there for the smurflings.


	13. A Smurf Community

**Chapter 13: A Smurf Community**

"Here is where we take the smurflings to unwind after dinner," Brainy is explaining as he opens the door and allows Hefty and Toughette to step into a very spacious room that is obviously set aside as a huge playroom for youngsters. Toys of all kinds scattered all over the floor, as well as bookcases lining up and down the walls. "They play games of their choice. Usually, five days out of the week during the day Brainette and I teach the smurflings in small groups reading, writing, and arithmetic." Brainy continues, leading Hefty, Toughette and the rest of the adult smurfs past countless smurflings, both male and female, who are either playing board games on the floor, or horse-playing nosily, or else sitting on their soft bean bag chairs out of way, reading a favorite book quietly but avidly.

"Don't forget us Brainy," Snappy speaks up with a chuckle, "We each take turns in teaching the smurflings a little of what we know!"

Nat nods. "Yeah, for example I would take a group of smurflings out into the forest and teach them all about nature," he says proudly. "Speaking of which, you two are more then welcome to join us tomorrow. It will give you the chance to become familiar with the new territory!"

"Ah, sure…" Hefty and Toughette chime in unison, not looking entirely too certain just yet what they really want to do.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, something came scooting toward Brainy and the rest of the adult smurfs. It is a small, strange-looking box made out of some unfamiliar material. It doesn't look like metal, but it is shiny red color and has black wheels attached underneath it. It zooms at top speed, going around and around the surprised adult smurfs without stopping. The noise it makes sounds like an army of bees.

"Whoa! What is that…?" The panicky Hefty yelps. Before the other smurfs could stop him, Hefty quickly stomps on the noisy fast-moving object, flattening it like a pancake.

Slouchy flinches, and then let out a little sigh. "That _was_ a toy, Hefty."

"**_Hey!_**" A little voice cries out. "That was mine! You broke it!"

Hefty blinks in surprise as young Tech Smurfling comes walking angrily over to him and gives him a mean glare. Sheepishly the strong smurf lifts his foot. Beneath the red toy lay crushed beyond repairs. "Uh, gee, I'm sorry. I-I-I-I…" Hefty stutters helplessly, not knowing what to say to a little smurfling who had just witnessed the senseless destruction of his beloved toy. He also realized that the rest of the smurflings had stopped playing or reading and are now watching him quite keenly. What a way for a hero to impress youngsters!

Tech bends down and picks up his broken toy with one hand. In the other hand he is holding a small remote control. Again he gives Hefty another rude glare. "I spent all week building this race car, and you killed it with your big fat foot!"

"Awe, Tech, Hefty didn't mean to do that." Sassette reassures the little smurfling in a soothing voice.

"Yeah, little fella, besides the damage doesn't look that bad," Snappy speaks to Tech with enthusiasm, "Come on - I'm sure that with my help it will look even better and go twice as fast!"

"Well…" Tech looks up doubtfully to Hefty. The strong smurf tries to look apologetic by giving the young smurfling a nervous, crooked smile. Tech scowls. "As long _he's_ not around to break it again!" The smurfling comments acidly before walking away with Snappy.

Toughette flinches at the expression Tech was giving Hefty. "Ooh, not a good first impression," She says sympathetically to her mate.

"Tell me about it!" Hefty groans, feeling even guiltier about breaking a smurfling's toy. He is relieved the rest of the smurflings had stopped staring and return to whatever they are doing moments before.

"Don't feel too bad, Hefty!" Brainy says positively, "Tech, as well as most of the smurflings here, does inherit a lot of their original personalities from the days of the Old Village. Much like Handy Smurf would, Tech, himself, will soon forgive you for this incident."

"I-I don't know. Everything is so different!" Hefty pouts, "These smurflings are different. How will I ever get used to all of this?"

"Well, it will take time," Brainy states, "But like Snappy mentioned earlier these smurflings can be a real handful. I admit myself in losing my temper a few times with some of the antics these smurflings pull off!"

Slouchy snickers. "Only a few times, Brainy? What about last week?"

"What happened?" Toughette asks, suddenly interested.

"Oh nothing really," Nat tries to contain his snickering, "Just that a few of the smurflings decided to start a food fight while the rest of us stepped out of the dining hall for only a moment!"

"I swear, you turn your back for a split second and havoc rains with them!" Sassette exclaims, raising her arms above her head in mock exasperation.

"No doubt Boomer must have started that chaos!" Brainette growls, shaking her head disapprovingly.

"You really have it out for that little smurfling, don't you?" Sorcerette raises her eyebrow with amusement at her elder.

"Let's just say I don't tolerate misbehavior from anyone!" The smurfette elder clinches her teeth as she says this.

"That's true," Toughette smiles warmly, knowing there will always be a part of her bespectacled sister that would never change.

"So what did you guys do?" Hefty asks with a wide grin as he can't help but find this story amusing.

"Well, of course we all rushed in, and as soon as we did Brainy got hit in the face with a cream pie!" Sorcerer Smurf laughs. At this the other older smurfs hoot loudly.

"I can see that happening," Hefty joins in with a chuckle.

"Oh, very fu-**_Skater!_**" Brainy suddenly shouts at one of the smurflings rolling by on his skateboard.

The little smurfling is in the middle of doing a trick on his board when he turns his head sharply at the sound of his elder calling out to him. As he does this, he loses balance and the skateboard slips out from under his feet, causing him to land rather unceremoniously on the floor on his little rump.

"Man I had to bail on the huge kicker!" The little smurfling grumbles loudly as he gets up, dusts himself off, and picks up his skate board.

"Skater Smurfling!" Brainy scolds, "What have I told you about skating on that board inside the community?"

"Oops, sorry warden." Skater Smurfling replies sheepishly.

"Warden?" Toughette asks Sassette.

"It's a slang word for 'parental figure'…_I think_." The grey-haired braided elder replies with a hint of uncertainty.

"I want you to go and put that thing away," Brainy says sternly to the young smurfling, "You will be able to play on it tomorrow when we send you smurflings outside to play in the afternoon!"

"Ogey." Skater Smurfling nods glumly before doing as he is told, taking the board with him and shuffling off.

"Alright, so you weren't kidding about the new form of talking that smurfling does." Hefty shakes his head wonderingly.

"Slang talking isn't that difficult to understand," Sorcerer says with a shrug, "I can teach you a few neat phrases if you like."

"Not right now, Sorcerer." Brainy interrupts before Hefty could answer.

Brainy is about to motion the others to carry on touring the rest of the playroom and observing the smurflings when a loud screechy noise echoes across the room. Many of the smurflings, including all the adults quickly clap their hands over their ears and grimace in pain.

"**_Arg!_** What is that horrible racket!" Toughette hollers to Brainy and Brainette.

"That would be Jammer! Remember we talked about him during dinner!" Brainette shouts back, flinching at the same time at the sound of a dreadfully off-key wailing on guitar strings. From a corner not too far away a certain young smurfling could be seen strumming furiously on his small metallic guitar.

"You mean the reincarnation of Harmony?" Hefty says, clinching his teeth together. "Yeah, I think I now understand. There is certainly a resemblance to how this smurfling is playing!"

"Ah, but there is good news with the instrument Jammer Smurfling plays!" Brainy says with a grin.

"Yeah, what's that?" The strong smurf groans, trying to press his hands harder on his ears to block out the ear-splitting noise.

With a smirk, Brainy walks over to an amp that is attached to the guitar Jammer is playing. He reaches for a knob and turns it sharply counter-clockwise. The noise immediately died down, and the silence afterwards is incredibly blissful.

"It has volume control." The red-capped bespectacled smurf replies, adjusting his red cap and looking quite pleased with himself.

"Hey, that is just smurfy!" Hefty cheers happily, taking his hands off his ears.

"Yeah!" Toughette nods her head in agreement.

"Huh…?" The little smurfling looks down at his guitar in puzzlement. Why did it suddenly stop making noise? He looks up to see his Elder watching him with his eyebrow raised at him.

"Awe, come on Elder! I need to practice!" He whines to Brainy.

"I know… You need _a lot_ of practice, but not tonight, Jammer." Brainy answered him patiently. "Tonight you are to keep this off, is that clear?"

"Why?" The smurfling whines again.

"Because our Protectors are not used to the new form of music you and the other smurflings enjoy yet. I've already instructed that to you remember?"

"Oh yeah…" Jammer has just now notices Hefty and Toughette and let out a small sigh.

"Now if you must practice I suggest you practice with the amp off, ok?" Brainy suggests.

The little smurfling pouts. "Ok…but, it just doesn't sound the same!"

"Aw, cheer up, little one!" Toughette coos to Jammer Smurfling, "I'm sure someday you will be a fabulous, er, musician."

At this remark Jammer perks up with a big grin. "Gee, you think so?"

"Eh, sure…why not! It's a new world. Anything's possible!" Toughette shrugs cheerfully before walking away with the rest of the adult smurfs.

"Then again, if he's anything like Harmony, it would take another lifetime before he could play in tune…" Hefty whispers to his golden blond girlfriend. Toughette responds in a fit of giggles.

"Elders!" A little female voice cried out. The older smurfs looked over to see a little brunette smurfette in a velvet dress come running toward them. Following closely behind her are her two playmates, a blond smurfette and a little smurfling. Both are dressed in somewhat similar fashionable clothing.

"What is it Valvette?" Sassette asks in a resigned voice.

"Yeah, why the frantic expressions?" Slouchy says with a grin.

"Oh, you have to help! It's a matter of _life and smurf_!" Valvette cries in distress, putting her hand to her forehead and pretending to faint.

"Really? How so?" Brainy asked, raising his eyebrow in suspicion.

"Like, totally, this is the worst fashion disaster in history!" The little smurf in fashionable clothing cries out in a panicky voice, waving his arms frantically.

"I doubt it, but continue…" Brainette says with a sigh.

"This Sweet Teen article states that autumn colors are now in effect for this season of top of the line in wardrobe!" The little blond smurfling squeaks out.

Brainette frowns. "I'm sorry; I fail to see the urgency to your complaint." She huffs, placing her hands on her hips and looking steadily at the three agitated youngsters.

"Look at us, Elder Brainette!" Valvette cries as she tugs at the clothes on her body, "We are still in our summer fashions!"

"I don't get it…?" Hefty says, looking sideway at Toughette and shrugging in bewilderment.

"Neither do I," Toughette shrugs back to her boyfriend as well.

"Hellooo! We are the most stylish smurflings of this community. It is our duty to keep ourselves in the latest fashions, or we are just not _cool_!" Valvette shouts loudly.

"Oh, I could just cry right now!" The little blond smurfette says with tears in her eyes.

"It'll be ok Enamorette." Nat kneels down and places a hand on the weepy smurfette's shoulder.

"Gee, why don't you smurflings make some pink dresses and be happy with that?" Toughette declares exasperatedly, rolling her eyes skyward.

"Pua-leeze that was _so_ last season!" Valvette says haughtily, taking on a snobby valley-girl pose and flipping her hand off to the side.

"Oh forgive us…guess we are a little old-fashioned." Brainy shrugs as he gives Hefty and Toughette a knowing look. "That is how most smurfs and smurfettes from our days handled their fashion crises."

At once the strong duo smile at him, instantly recognizing Valvette, Smurfette, and Vanity in each of the three anxious smurflings.

Just then Hefty has a bright idea. "Why don't you two go find Sewette and Tay - er, I mean, Designer Smurfling and go make up your own styles of clothes?" He suggests, correcting himself as he remembered that Taylor Smurf has now evolved.

"That's a really good idea, Hefty!" Brainy nods in agreement. "You hear that smurflings. Why don't you go try out your creative skills with Sewette and Designer? Bet they are eager to try their new sewing equipment we got for them last week!"

"I suppose so," the little Vanity Smurfling sighs, not looking too thrilled at the idea. The three smurflings walk off with a disappointed look on their youthful faces.

"You know, Sorcerer and I could have just conjured them a new wardrobe with our magic, Elders," Sorcerette says, wriggling her fingers. This small movement causes little speckles of light to dance magically off the fingertips.

"Maybe, but they need to learn how to do things on their own, Sorcerette," Brainette states patiently, "You don't want them to be too dependent on your powers!"

"But Elder, you have us use our powers to shrink human size stuff down to smurf size almost all the time!" The punk smurfette points out.

"That is different," The smurfette Elder says firmly, "We rightfully trade our smurf things for each of those items with our native friends from the Squamish tribe to easily run this Community!"

"What sort of things do you trade with this tribe?" Hefty asks curiously.

Brainette begins to explain. "Well, we pick certain herbs, dry them out, and package them so the tribe can sell to their human customers. We also trade some of our smurf things and they sell them as miniatures, which apparently is a huge market for some humans. All of the work we all do help pay for the items we trade for. But the point I'm trying to make is that imagine the extra hard work we would have to do. Modern technology helps a long way for us. If we didn't posses it the extra work would certainly take us away from what we are supposed to be doing now and that is raising these smurflings. Again, that does not mean for you two to abuse your powers!" She finishes by scolding the young magical smurfs.

"Brainette has a point. Like Hefty and Toughette, you and Sorcerer are destined to be protectors and, one day, leaders to these smurflings!" Brainy adds with a solemn nod.

"Awe, gee, not too much pressure there, Elder!" Sorcerer scoffs sarcastically, crossing his arms in a huff.

"You have a lot to learn, Sorcerer, and a whole life ahead of you yet!" Brainy says in a most unusually serious manner before turning abruptly and walking away.

It is the way his intelligent older brother spoke that seems so alien to Hefty. There seems a hint of hurt in the tone of his voice, not to mention a bit of tension that suddenly springs up between Brainy and Sorcerer. Hefty watches with a puzzled frown as Brainy limps towards some other smurflings playing a board game. Again Hefty ponders on what could have happened to his brother that caused him to limp like this. He desperately wants to ask what happened, but would this be an appropriate time to ask? Hefty looks over to Sassette, Nat, Slouchy, and Brainette; the four of them are shaking their heads sadly at the small outburst Brainy and Sorcerer just had. He then turns to see Sorcerer and Sorcerette. Sorcerette let out a sigh as she shakes her head, a bit exasperated, and rolls her eyes skyward. Sorcerer still has his arms crossed. The young magical smurf is looking away from the rest of the smurfs, obviously in a sulking fit. This is becoming very confusing for Hefty to understand. He turns to Toughette, whom is just as confused as he is. She shrugs her shoulders as if to say, 'I don't know either!'

Once again, Hefty looks over to his older brother, Brainy. The elderly smurf in red has seated himself carefully on a chair and has already begun a conversation with a small group of smurflings who are playing a board game. Once again, Hefty feels as though he is in a bad dream. He should really go talk to Brainy - but, what could he say to him? Maybe he should talk to Sorcerer? Then again, what could he say to him that might smooth this awkward situation over?

How Hefty wishes Papa Smurf were here! He'd know how to handle this issue between Brainy and Sorcerer, no matter what it is. The strong smurf lets out a sigh knowing that there is nothing much that he could do. Suddenly, a little female's voice let out a little yelp. Hefty instantly turns in direction where the cry of distress came from.

"**_Aaah!_** You ripped my paper!" A little red-headed smurfette is screeching at a cranky looking smurfling, "Get away from me you dimwitty-smurf!"

With a growl and a mutter, the smurfling did as told and walked away from the scowling young smurfette. Sorcerer instantly smiles warmly at the little smurfling, apparently forgetting his outburst to Brainy.

"Hey Moody," Sorcerer winks at the small frowning youngster, "How's my little buddy…besides getting into trouble with your little girlfriend back there?" He teases, jerking his thumb towards the little red-headed smurfette.

"She is not my girlfriend!" Moody snaps. The red-headed smurfette glares rudely at him and sticks her tongue out at him. Moody's scowl deepens. "I hate redheads!" He mutters gruffly under his breath , crossing his arms.

Hefty instantly smiles as he recognizes his brother, Grouchy, in the smurfling's facial expression.

"Oh, come on…Somehow I don't believe you! I see how you look at her sometimes. Oh yeah, I do think she's your girlfriend!" Sorcerer teases again.

"I said she's not my girlfriend!" Moody Smurfling growls loudly.

"Ok, so maybe you are right, and she is not your girlfriend. But that won't stop me from tickling you…"

Before Moody Smurfling could react, Sorcerer swiftly grabs the little smurfling and begins tickling his belly. Moody burst out in a fit of giggles and as Sorcerer tortures him mercilessly. No matter how much the young smurfling wriggles, Sorcerer refuses to let him go even for one second.

Hefty smiles again at the scene. How ironic that Grouchy would care so much for Baby Smurf, a long time ago…and here in this new world it is Sorcerer, formerly Baby Smurf, taking care of the younger Grouchy who is now known as Moody Smurfling!

A sudden feeling of someone looking up at him comes over Hefty. He glances down and sees a little smurfette standing at his side with blond hair that has one long braid down her back. She is wearing a light pink dress and a white sweater with a red cross on it. There is something familiar about her, but Hefty can't place a finger on it.

The little blond smurfette has just notices a scar above Hefty's left eyebrow, and flinches. It seems somewhat familiar to her. Somehow, in her mind, she seems to remember seeing this strong adult smurf lying in a bed wrapped up in bandages.

"That owie on your face looks like it must have hurt." She finally says.

Hefty gently runs his fingers over his scar, acknowledging the worried and compassionate expression on the little smurfette's face. He realizes that she could be experiencing one of those _déjà vu_ effects, just as Brainy and Brainette had mentioned earlier. In fact, now that he has taken a better look into her eyes, he thinks he recognized the smurfette he once knew years ago in her.

"Yeah, I was badly hurt a long time ago," Hefty replies, "Fortunately someone I knew helped heal me. She was very knowledgeable when it came to medicines and healing wounds. You wouldn't by chance know how to heal wounds, would you?" The strong smurf asks the little blond smurfette.

"Yes in fact! I'm learning from Elder Brainette and Elder Nat!" The little smurfette says proudly and cheerfully. "Someday I will be a Nurse!"

"Let me guess," Hefty asks with a wink, "Your name wouldn't be Nursette, would it?"

Her little jaw drops opens. "How did you know?"

"Oh, let's just call it a lucky guess."

Toughette smiles at seeing her once-adult sister now an innocent little smurfling. How she remembers the times when Nursette had to literally get half the Smurfette Village to hold her down to get a tetanus shot! She cringes at those memories. Lost in thoughts, the tough smurfette looks around carefully across the playroom and notices some more familiar faces in a group of smurflings.

Just then a puzzling, totally unfamiliar music come floating from a medium-sized, strange box that is mostly metal standing between two smurflings who are sitting up against a wall. In front of them, where a large special mat is laid out, a little blond smurfette with her hair done up in half-bun, half-ponytail arranged into a half dozen tiny braids is doing an odd dance to the music. The little blond smurfling does a spin, and moves her arms in a snake-like fashion before sliding her feet so that it appears she is walking backwards. She stops to do a back flip and then the splits.

One of the smurflings that is standing near by steps forward. He is wearing a chain necklace with a silver 'R' attached to it. The smurfling bounces his chin to the beat of the music as he prepares himself to recite his rhymes.

_There is no doubting it,_

_Dancing is a part of her art, she's so fluent _

_So all you smurflings let us jet_

_There is no one better here then Jazzette. _

Jazzette kicks her legs around to start spinning like a T-top on her back. She slows to a stop, ending up lying on her side in a finishing pose.

Toughette claps furiously once the smurflings ends their rap and dance. It sort of looked like a circus performance the way the little blond smurfette danced - none the less, Toughette is much entertained, even enthralled by this little show. Rapper Smurfling and Jazzette look up, notice Toughette and with a grin they both bow to the older blond smurfette.

"Yo! Yo! There's a Protector in the house!" Rapper cheers happily.

"Thank you, Protector, you're too kind." Jazzette says modestly.

Toughette stops clapping and makes a grim face at being called a 'protector'. Rapper and Jazzette notice her expression and stares at her curiously. "Er, Protector, huh?" Toughette says, blushing slightly, and adds with a careless shrug, "Why don't you just call me Toughette instead, ok?"

Rapper nods, and at once he declares loudly for all to hear:

_Attention to all Smurflings in this Community_

_Those who fear danger we can feel the serenity _

_Trust me now there is no need to fret_

_We have a Protector, whose name is Toughette!_

Rapper is speaking in a rhythmic style, moving his hands up and down to the beat he is creating with his words.

"That is so cute." Toughette chuckles, clapping again as soon as Rapper finishes. "I never heard someone recite poetry like that before!"

"Hey smurflings, can I borrow your stereo for a bit?" Sorcerer calls out as he walks over to a small group of smurflings with Hefty beside him. "I want to show Hefty and Toughette a bit about the new way we listen to music!"

"Sure Sorcerer!" A sleepy looking smurfling chirps as he pushed his stereo out closer to the young magical smurf.

With a flick of his wrist, Sorcerer suddenly has his portable CD case flash in front of him. After thumbing through his collection, he pulls out the CD he is looking for. "Now this has to be one of the best remakes ever," he declares, "This song is called 'Land of Confusion', and the group singing it, is Disturbed."

"I'll say…" Hefty groans as he covers his ears again, anticipating dreadful noise.

Sorcerette giggles. "No, he means that 'Disturbed' is the name of the group that is playing this song!" She explains, joining the group.

"Well, they certainly named themselves well, didn't they? They sound very _disturbed_." Toughette jokes in a sarcastic tone and flinching at the noise coming from the medium size box.

"You're funny, Toughette." Jazzette laughs.

The strong, golden-haired smurfette smirks at the young Jazzette. "I'm glad you liked it kiddo."

"Ok fine," Sorcerer exclaims as he changes the CDs in the stereo, "I'll introduce you to more music later. Right now I want to show you one of the new ways we dance!"

A hip-hop, somewhat funky techno-style music begins playing from the stereo. Both Hefty and Toughette make an odd face to indicate they are not sure if they like the music or not, even though it does have a nice beat to it.

Sorcerer begins moving his arms in a snake-like fashion. He then pivots on his feet, sliding them along the mat without lifting them up. With a triple spin then the half splits, Sorcerer bounces back up to his feet. "This is called Break Dancing, guys." He explains as he does his finishing pose.

"Ah sure…I think I broke something just watching you!" Hefty laughs whole heartily. Toughette joins him in a good chuckle.

Brainette walks over to Brainy. Smiling, the two of them gaze silently as a growing crowd of smurflings - along with Sassette, Slouchy, and Nat - gather around the mat to watch as Sorcerer and Sorcerette pull Hefty and Toughette up in order to teach them how to do the new dance.

"So what do you think, Brainy? Do you feel Hefty and Toughette will get use to everything?" The intelligent smurfette elder asks her mate.

"Well, it is too soon to tell, Brainette," Brainy answers quietly, "This is only their second day in this new world. I'm quite concerned on how they will react in seeing the city with Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf in a few weeks." For a minute the elderly smurf looks worried. "We should really start preparing them for these extreme changes they will see. So far they've experienced quite a shock, and I'm not sure how they will react in the weeks to come, and..."

Brainy stops when the hip-hop/techno music is turned up ever louder. It is, however, drowned out by the sound of laughter roaring from the crowd in the corner. It is soon apparent that Hefty and Toughette doesn't even try to follow Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf's crazy moves. Every time they try in vain to mimic the young magical duo's dancing poses, the two strong smurfs could not help but break out into laughter. As the sound of their laughter becomes contagious, the surrounding smurflings and adult smurfs also begin to laugh out loud along with them.

"Still, it is good to hear them laugh again." Brainy says absently with a smile.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**AN HOUR AND HALF LATER…**

"So I take it you tell the smurflings a story of the Old Village every night?" Hefty asks as he reflects moments ago just before he is to herd the smurflings to the bathroom, where the youngsters are to brush their teeth and be sent off to their sleeping quarters.

Brainette, Sassette, Sorcerette, and Toughette have already taken the little smurfettes to their quarters. Snappy and Nat are on a duty to clean up the main kitchen, and that leaves Slouchy and Sorcerer to help Brainy and Hefty get the little smurflings ready for bed.

"Pretty much every night we tell a story of the Old Villages, both the Smurfs and the Smurfettes. It is a way of telling them of our history, Hefty." Brainy explains calmly.

"I suppose I can understand that," the strong smurf nods, "but what else do you do with these smurflings besides teaching them basic math, reading, and telling stories about our past…?"

Before Brainy could answer his curious younger brother an unexpected flash of light takes Hefty by surprise. Startled, the tough smurf cannot help but jumps in panic.

"What was that? Lightning? Inside?" Hefty cries, looking wildly around.

"Wow, zat picture will make ze perfect masteurpiesa!" A little smurfling, speaking with a French accent, exclaims happily. He is standing at Hefty's side with a digital camera in his hands. Brainy chuckles.

"Hefty, this is Photographer Smurfling and he just took your picture with his camera." The elderly smurf explains with a smile.

"Here, have a look!" Photographer chimes proudly as he held up the back end of the camera to Hefty so he can see clearly the recent picture the youngster had just taken.

Hefty's jaw drops open in astonishment. "It's so life like…" he says in awe.

"Yo, Photographer, cool shot little bro!" Sorcerer declares, holding hand held up for the little smurfling to give him a 'high-five'.

"Well, you know, I felt a certain inspiration to capture ze monument!" Photographer chirps, winking at Sorcerer.

"_Monum_… Oh, don't you mean moment? _Capture the moment_?" Sorcerer corrects the smurfling.

Photographer makes a face. "Zat's what I zaid, sheesh!" The smurfling sighed, rolling his eyes skyward.

Sorcerer chuckles. "Ok little guy. Let's get you to bed now, shall we?" He says, and starts escorting the protesting Photographer across the room.

"Ok, that was interesting…" Hefty smirks, watching idly as Sorcerer and Photographer make it to one of the beds lined up in a row.

"Come one Hefty, we have other smurflings to tuck in." Slouchy reminds the strong smurf.

The three adult smurfs walk past some of the beds, making sure that every smurfling are tucked in until Brainy suddenly stops and gives a suspicious glare to one of the smurflings not yet tucked in his bed

"Skater, Skater, Skater…" Brainy begins in a lecturing tone. The smurfling called Skater is sitting at his small desk, doodling something on the paper. He turns right around and gives the elderly smurf an annoyed look. Undeterred, Brainy continues, "That is not the proper way to store your skateboard for the evening, Skater! Someone could trip over it when they walk past your bed!" He scolds sternly.

"Dude, you're harshing my mellow!" Skater groans but he does as he is told, getting off his chair to push his skateboard further under his bed anyway.

"Skater, I'll harsh more than that if you don't get into your bed right now!" Elder Brainy demands.

"Chill, Warden, I gotta get my jamjams on first!"

"Fine." Brainy sighs.

"Jamjams…?" Hefty tries to hide a snicker, but fails.

"He means his pajamas Hefty." Slouchy explains with a grin.

Hefty nods. "I kind of guessed that." The strong smurf says with a snort.

"Dude, these wacked out styles are totally _on the hook_!" Skater Smurfling says with a disgusted sneer as he pulls out of his drawer an adult smurf's jacket and hat that looked like something from the 60's.

Brainy stares at them with a stunned expression. "Where did you get those…?" He demands, and suddenly he is having a tug-of-war in order to take his jacket from Skater Smurfling's grasp.

"Come on, Brainy and Sorcerer has this side covered," Slouchy suggests hastily. "You and I can begin on the other side to tuck in the little smurflings."

"Alright." Hefty nods again, with yet another attempt to cover up his snickering.

It took the four adult smurfs half an hour to help the rest of the smurflings put their pajamas on and tuck them into bed. As they did so, Hefty walks past Tech Smurfling. With a smile, he attempts to speak to him.

"Ah, goodnight Tech. Sweet dreams!"

"Harrumph!" Tech huffs. With an abrupt movement the little smurfling pulls the covers up over his face so he wouldn't have to look at Hefty.

Hefty feels hurt. This is certainly a clear sign that Tech is still angry at him for breaking his remote control toy earlier. With a gulp, Hefty retreats away from Tech's bed and towards the other smurfs who are waiting by the door to leave the room. Brainy smile reassuringly at his younger brother as Hefty joins them.

"Ok, goodnight smurflings!" The elderly smurf calls out to the young smurfs in their beds.

"Goodnight, Elders! Goodnight Protector!" With the obvious exception of Tech, the other smurflings call back cheerfully just before Brainy turns out the lights.

"Er, goodnight smurflings!" Hefty responds with a hint of uncertainty. Then, without another word, he follows Brainy, Slouchy, and Sorcerer out of the room and down the hall.


	14. The Find of a Lifetime

**Chapter 14: The find of a Lifetime**

"Oh no, not this place again…" Toughette whines as soon as the smurfs enter their living room, having instantly recognized the large evil box at the end of the room. It had once displayed the screaming demon on the screen that frightened her and Hefty into running right out of the room last night.

"Relax, Toughette!" Sassette says cheerfully, "I have told Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf to keep the TV off tonight." She looks over to the young magical smurfs just in time to see them rolling their eyes. Obviously they are not happy over the fact they will have to miss their favorite shows tonight. Sassette continues speaking to Hefty and Toughette, "Besides, I prefer to have some quality time with you two anyway. There is just so much to talk about - we have a lot of catching up to do!"

"Sassette's right. Not to mention that this will give us an opportunity to answer any additional questions you two may have yet!" Snappy adds.

"Wonderful. We only have a _thousand_ or so of them!" Toughette groans, shaking her head ruefully.

Hefty lets out a chuckle at his mate's remark. Then he notices the unnatural silence coming from his now older brother and glances at him with concern. "Hey Brainy, you seem so quiet all of a sudden. Is everything alright?"

"Huh?" Brainy turns to Hefty with a puzzled expression. He then takes in a deep sigh and replies, "I'm just a little tired, I guess."

Brainette hears this, and tugs at Slouchy's sleeve. "Why don't Slouchy and I prepare some tea and cookies for us to snack on?" Brainette suggests before slipping away into the kitchen, with Slouchy right behind her to help her with the refreshments.

"Forget tea, smurfs, there is something else I want you two to try," Sorcerer says suddenly to Hefty and Toughette, "I'll be right back!" With that he runs past his elders and right into the kitchen.

"_Okay…_" Hefty shakes his head in bewilderment and raises his eyebrow over the young magical smurf's mysterious behavior. Never has he met a stranger smurf with such an odd sense of style!

With another sigh Brainy takes his seat in a comfy chair. "Won't you please sit down while we wait for our tea?" Brainy invites, gesturing toward the couch besides his chair.

For a while there is an awkward silence in the living room between the seated smurfs. None of them knows exactly what to say to another. With a shrug Sassette finally breaks the silence. "Um, how are you two handling your second day in this new world?" She asks Hefty and Toughette curiously.

"To be honest it's a little over whelming." Toughette replies after a moment. Hefty simply nods in agreement.

"Well it should come as no surprise that there is a lot for you to learn, but don't worry, we will help you adjust!" Snappy says in a positive manner, hoping to make Hefty and Toughette feel less insecure in their new surroundings.

At once Sorcerette starts to fidget in her chair excitedly. "Yeah, and Sorcerer and I can't wait to show you the city! We are going to have so much fun!" She squeals giddily.

"Sorcerette, remember what we told you now." Nat admonishes, shakes his finger at Sorcerette in a lecturing manner.

"Hey, don't worry, Elder," The magical smurfette says confidently, "We won't go into the city for another three weeks! I'm sure Hefty and Toughette will get to know a few things about the new technology by then." She turns back suddenly to Hefty and Toughette. "Oh you are totally going to love this one place! It's called a movie theater. They play awesome flicks that will just blow you away!" She clasps her hands in glee, "And then there is another place we have to show you, which is called The Rave Club! But it's only open at night time. It's a place where they play groovy music to dance to!" She adds, bouncing her body in her chair as though she is listening to music inside her head.

There is yet another odd silence. Hefty and Toughette are both giving Sorcerette a strange look.

"What is she talking about?" Hefty asks to no one in particular, but hoping someone in the room could translate what Sorcerette is saying for him and Toughette.

"Oh, something that I'm sure will involve in a little chat before your tour to the city, Hefty!" Snappy growls, crossing his arms across his chest and giving Sorcerette a very serious look.

"Indeed." Brainy groans, tapping his finger on the handle of his cane. "_The Rave Club_ is not place for young smurfs. I heard too many bad things that go on in there!"

"Oh, come on Elders," Sorcerette whines, feeling like a cornered animal, "We are always careful when we go, and besides Hefty and Toughette are here now, so it will be extra safe to go to these places!"

"That is besides the point and you know it!" Nat says sternly.

"Look, Sorcerette, if going to this Rave Club is as _safe_ as that plane ride you took us on while getting us here then Hefty and I might just want to take rain check on that!" Toughette scoffs.

"Just trust me, it'll be fun..." The magical smurfette whispers to the strong smurfs, giving them a puppy-eyed look.

Brainy, however, overheard her and shakes his head disapprovingly. "Not if I have anything to say about it…!" Brainy growls, glaring severely at Sorcerette. .

Suddenly, an odd ringing tone is heard coming from the kitchen. Again this new noise puzzles Hefty and Toughette. They look around, wondering what could be making that noise.

"What is that strange sound?" Hefty finally asks, but then the ringing abruptly stops and the smurfs hear Brainette's voice saying "hello?"

"That would be the phone, Hefty. Don't worry, Brainette has it in the kitchen." Sassette explains.

"The phone? You mean that doohickey thing that Brainy was talking into earlier today?" Hefty asks, jerking his thumb towards his older brother in red.

"A phone and a cell phone are similar, but yet different, Hefty." Brainy replies with a sigh.

"Oh, how so?" The strong smurf raises his eyebrow to his brother, encouraging him to continue explaining.

Brainy was about to enlighten Hefty on the different modes of communication when Brainette pokes her head out of the kitchen. "Ah, Brainy, it's for you." She announces.

"Could you tell whoever it is that I will call them back later?" Brainy says impatiently to his mate.

"It's kind of important and kind of long distance, Love." She says, trying to sound pleasant.

"Who is it?" Now Brainy is curious.

"It's Andrew from Belgium."

Brainy looks surprised. "Now why would Andrew call at this hour?" He ponders, scratching white-bearded chin.

Brainette shrugs. "I don't know. Why don't you _get up_ and come in the kitchen to talk to him? Who do you think I am? Your secretary? " she says in a sarcastic tone.

Brainy gives his mate an exasperated look and grumbles something under his breath.

"I'll be right back." The red-capped elder mutters as he struggles to get up from his seat, and hobbles grumpily into the kitchen.

Toughette gives a quizzical shrug and looks curiously at Sassette, Nat, and Snappy. "Who's Andrew?" She asks.

Snappy is the first to answer. "Andrew is a Great-Great-Great-Great grandson of our old friend Joseph."

"Have Brainy and Brainette talked to you guys about him yet?" Nat asks both Hefty and Toughette.

Hefty nods. "Yes, they've mentioned him and Gloria's Great grandchildren too."

Snappy grins approvingly. "Ah, so you are somewhat up to speed then!"

Sorcerer finally exits the kitchen, carrying a tray of four glasses filled with some kind of black liquid that makes strange popping sound.

"Here Hefty, Toughette, try this!" Sorcerer says eagerly, and hands the strong smurfs each a glass.

Hefty eyes the drink skeptically. He looks over to Toughette; she has the same expression on her face as well, too. Both are not sure if they should try this strange drink, remembering the last time they had tried something Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf gave them on the plane ride here – and the results has not been very pleasant.

"You first," Toughette says after a moment.

Hefty gives her a grim look before sniffing the drink and taking a sip from it. As Hefty swallowed he nearly choked. No liquid he has ever drunk in the past felt so strange going down his throat!

"Sorry about that. It was an important phone call after all," Brainy says, coming out of the kitchen, "Andrew and the rest of his family in Belgium are thrilled that Hefty and Toughette made it safely and…" Brainy pauses in mid-sentence when he notices Hefty's funny expression on his way back to his chair. "Now what's wrong with you?" He says with a weary groan.

"Something's not right with this drink!" Hefty manages to speak after a fit of coughing.

Brainy looks at Hefty then at the glass with the black bubbling liquid, and glances at Sorcerer. He gives the young magical smurf an aggravated look that said 'why do you test me like this?' With a deep sigh, Brainy turns back to Hefty.

"It's called pop, Hefty. Soda pop. I know it's terrible stuff. I'd do my best to stay away from it!"

"It felt like dozens of tiny bubbles dancing down my throat," Hefty comments with a wry face. Then, unable to stop himself, he gives a small belch.

"Oh that's attractive." Toughette smirks sarcastically. The two young magical smurfs and Snappy, Nat, and Sassette start to giggle.

"I didn't mean to burp. Like I said, there is something wrong with this drink!" Hefty cried out in defiance.

Just then Brainette comes out of the kitchen. Obviously she has heard the conversation concerning the soda pop. "It's the carbohydrate mixed with caffeine in the pop that is causing the acid in your stomach to react and form gas bubbles, which results in belching." She explains with a little smile as she enters the living room with a tray of cookies. Slouchy comes following her, carrying another tray with a tea pot and ten cups.

"Oh great," The strong smurf grumbles, not looking too happy about it. "How long does this last?"

"It shouldn't last long at all, Hefty; depending on how much you drank. Here, perhaps you would prefer some tea instead?" Brainette offers, pouring into a cup from the tea pot.

"Yes please…" Hefty nods, relieved to put away the glass with the strange dark liquid.

As Toughette takes a sip of her tea she looks over to the floral arrangement around the natural water fall on the far wall of the room. Sassette notices Toughette gazing at the natural piece of artwork.

"What do you think of the little garden I created, Toughette?" Sassette asks with a hint of pride.

"It's lovely," Toughette remarks, "Floraette would have been both proud and impressed, Sassette!"

"I'm sure Smurfette would feel the same too." The elder with the gray braids agrees with a little sigh.

Toughette turns around in time to see Sassette smiling, yet her eyes are filled with sadness. The tough smurfette understands how the former red-headed smurfling feels.

Something occurs to Hefty and he turns to his elderly brother. "Speaking of gardens, Brainy, didn't you mention something about there being an Enchanted Garden?" Hefty asks his older brother, raising his eyebrow as a way of a hint.

Brainy stops his cup before it could touch his lips. "Yeah, guess I did…" He replies slowly, and after a few seconds he allows himself to take a sip of his tea.

"Well…?" The strong smurf says forcefully, wanting to prompt his intelligent older brother to continue.

Brainy immediately put his cup down and stares at Hefty with a near stunned expression on his face. "Well what?" He demands exasperatedly.

Hefty is just as exasperated. "Aren't you going to explain yourself on what you know of this Enchanted Garden and how it is related to the smurfs?" He asks, waving his arms wildly up in the air.

"Hey, yeah! How _is_ this place related to us?" Toughette speaks up, putting down her cup as well.

Brainy looks over to his mate Brainette sitting beside him on the other comfy chair. She smiles and lets out a little giggle.

"We might as well tell them anyhow." She says warmly.

Brainy let out a deep sigh and sits back in his chair. "Alright," He begins, "It happened around 110 years ago. Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf had just turned 47 years old. Back then, they were both still known as Baby and Babette - " At this Sorcerer and Sorcerette make a wry face at their former names, but Brainy ignores them and continues, " - at the time mostly because we all have been busy following leads to places that it hadn't occurred to us to name them properly. Not that we were neglecting them, no. There were times we shared with these young smurfs that would eventually broaden their intellect to the young smurfs you see before you. "Brainy raises his eyebrow meaningfully at the young magical couple and continues narrating.

"On this particular day, however, we were following some leads that an old wizard gave us that could possibly have the ruby half of our Beetle Gem repaired. It turned out to be a wild goose chance, so we began heading back home to the school for Wizards and Wiccans. As we wondered the forest we discovered that we might have taken a wrong turn, and that we could be lost. That is when we found it…"

**OoOoOoOoOoOo**

**1895 – SOMEWHERE IN THE FAR NORTHERN MOUNTAINS OF EUROPE**

The smurfs are trudging slowly and wearily over a well-trodden path through the woods. It is autumn, and it is pretty chilly even with sunlight filtering through the branches toward the ground. Finally one of two small smurflings decides to speak up.

"Is it much further yet, Elders?" Baby Smurf whines for the umpteen time.

Brainy rolls his eyes skyward and gives out a weary sigh.

"Yeah, my feet are very tired." Babette second the whine.

"Be patient, young ones," Brainette explains, "We need to get our bearings straight. First we need to figure out where are."

Just then Sassette stops and looks around. "Perhaps we should rest a bit. I admit I am a little tired myself."

"Me too." Slouchy agreed with a nod.

"Fine," Brainy sighs, "Lets take a few minutes to rest over there by that log."

As soon as the smurf travelers sit down they pull out some sandwiches they packed for lunch. Within a few minutes, while the others are finishing their sandwiches, Babette and Baby Smurf pull a medium size shiny object out of Baby's backpack. The small smurflings places the object on the ground and wriggle their fingers, making the object grow. On a closer look the object turns out to be a golden heart-shape locket. The smurflings grin gleefully over the fact they could make it glow brightly.

Taking a bite out of his sandwich, Brainy turns around to see what the smurflings are doing and nearly chokes on his lunch.

"I thought I told you two to put that thing back where you found it before coming on this journey!" He snaps angrily at them, causing the youngsters to jump rather guiltily and the adult smurfs to turn their heads quickly around and stare at them.

"Aw, come on Elder. It's so pretty!" Babette chimes up, but ducks her head when Brainy frowns severely at her.

Nat put down his half-eaten sandwich. "That does not matter, Babette, that locket belonged to our special friend who was loyal to us smurfs!" He says in a serious tone, "We need to take care of that as well as all the other treasures we have back home!"

"I don't understand why we have to care so much for a bunch of junk," Baby Smurf gripes, shuffling his feet.

"Junk!" Brainette blurts out in surprise. "Those items are not junk! They belonged to each and every smurf and smurfette from our Old Village!"

It is Sassette's turn to give Baby and Babette a serious look. "You remember all the stories we told you of the days of the Old Village, don't you smurflings?" She asks the young ones.

Baby Smurf rolls his eye. "Yeah, yeah, yeah we remember," He says, "But you don't understand. There is something neat Babette and I found out about this locket!"

"The only thing I want to see you smurflings do is to shrink that locket and put it back in your backpack so it won't get lost!" Brainy demands.

"Please Elder…" Babette peers up at Brainy with puppy-dog eyes. She blinks rapidly, her long eyelashes flapping up and down for extra cuteness. "Just one little thing. Then we will put it away as you requested."

Brainy lets out an exasperated sigh and rolls his eyes again. "fine," he growls. "One thing then its back in the backpack it goes!"

"Ok!" The young smurflings chime happily.

Both of them instantly roll up their sleeves on their purple jackets. They curl their hands into tight fists, and then stretch their fingers out as far as they would go. After doing their hand movements a few more times the smurflings reach down toward the locket. With one hand each of the little ones hold the bottom half, and with the other hand they push open the locket with ease. Instantly a golden glow appears from inside the charm.

The adult smurfs gawk. "You're able to open it! No one was able to open that locket… NO ONE!" Snappy crows in sheer disbelief.

"Snappy's right. How is it that you two are able to open Puppy's locket?" Slouchy asks, his eyes wide with amazement.

Baby Smurf shrugs. "Don't know."

Babette smiles sheepishly. "We were just curious the other day when you told the story of Puppy, The Guardian of the Smurfs, and so we wanted to know if we could open the locket. Well, guess we can…" she trails off and ducks her head again.

The smurfs all look at each other in wonderment. This is when Brainette notices Brainy sitting quietly, deep in thought.

"Uh oh, I know that look," she smirks, "What's on your mind?"

"Just remembering the old days…I could have sworn that Papa Smurf had discussed to us about Puppy's locket," The red-capped bespectacled elder says, almost to himself, "He went to Homnibus, and the old sorcerer told him that only the chosen one can open it."

Nat scratches his head. "I don't think I remember hearing Papa Smurf saying that!"

"Well, I am not sure he told all the smurfs, Nat," Brainy admits, still pondering. "Either that or I just over heard him talking to someone about it…"

Brainette nods. "Hmm, very interesting," She comments. Then she brings her attention back to the smurflings. "Is there anything else you found out about this locket, young ones?"

"We aren't sure, Elder, perhaps it can help lead us back home?" Baby Smurf suggests helpfully.

All of a sudden the locket begins glowing even brighter, and a golden beam shoot past the startled smurfs' heads. The beam makes a direct hit in the darkest part of the forest. The darkness dissipates, revealing a golden gate that was apparently hiding behind an invisible shield. Above the gate it reads, "The Enchanted Gardens".

The smurfs all sit with their mouths hanging open.

"Ok, is it just me, or did that gate just appear out of thin air?" Sassette asks in astonishment.

Both the youngsters are beside themselves with excitement. "Wow! I knew our magic was good, but not this good!" Baby Smurf cheers, hopping up and down happily.

"Yeah!" Babette cries, clapping for joy.

The young smurfling grabs Babette's hand. "Come on! Let's go check it out!" Baby Smurf shouts, and eagerly they run off towards the golden gates, leaving behind the locket lying on the ground.

"Smurflings, wait! _Arg!_ When are they ever going to learn patience!" Brainy growls, struggling to get up from the ground.

"Probably never?" Sassette shrugs in a jokingly manner.

"Come on, we better catch up to them before they get into trouble!" Brainette suggests. In no time she, Brainy, Snappy, and Sassette take off chasing after the smurflings.

Nat realizes that the smurfs, in their anxiety to keep the smurflings from getting into trouble, has forgotten the locket left on the ground. He pauses long enough to reach down and pick the golden object up. The locket snaps shut before Nat could touch it. He blinks, but he picks it up nevertheless. With the locket in his hands, he and Slouchy rush off to catch up with the others.

The smurflings has reached the gate. Before they could touch it, however, the gate simply opens on its own. Curiously, the youngsters peek in through the gate. To their amazement they find a beautiful, yet strange garden stretching as far as they could see. The sun is shining down on the blooming plants and trees laden with all sorts of fruits. The birds seem to be chirping in a more pleasant tune then they do in any parts of forests of Europe. Even the other animals and insects appear much happier going about their business in this garden. In fact, it feels very much like springtime, it is so warm in there! The smurflings glance over their shoulders at the cold, autumn forest behind them and then back to the gorgeous scene before them through the gate.

"Whoa…" Both smurflings whistle in awe. With a giggle, they start skipping right through the gate and into the garden.

"Smurflings! Slow down!" Brainy hollers, running in after them as fast as his legs could allow him. But Snappy is even quicker.

"Wait for us!" Snappy cries, scurrying past Brainy after the smurflings. Brainette and Sassette are not far behind the smurfs in passing through the gate as well, too.

Panting, Nat and Slouchy were about to catch up with the rest of the smurfs when a slight movement just above a marbled pillar at either side of the gate caught their attention. Mystified, they pause and glance up to see what it is. There, at the top of each pillar is a statue in the shape of a gargoyle crouching with their heads bowed.

"Is it just me, Nat, or did those statues move?" Slouchy says with a gulp.

Nat scratches his chestnut brown-bearded chin in wonder. "I'm not sure Slouchy, but I suggest we keep our eyes peeled as we enter this garden. There is certainly something strange about it, no doubt!"

As the two smurfs run through the gate to join the others, the statues suddenly opened their glowing yellow eyes, turn their heads slightly to watch the blue intruders enter the garden.

Inside, Brainy and the others has finally caught up with the Babette and Baby Smurf and are giving them an earful.

"Boy, when we get home I'm having a serious talk with you two about running off like that!" Brainy pants, grabbing hold both of the smurflings by shoulder.

"Aw, come on Elder just look at this place!" Baby argues, sweeping his arms outwards to indicate the expanse of the garden.

"Yeah, and look over at those weird plants with the strange blue looking mushrooms growing on them!" Babette cries, pointing at one end of the meadow.

Brainette looks to where Babette had pointed, and her eyebrows go up with surprise. "Interesting... I never have seen plants like those before. Perhaps, in the name of science, I should take this opportunity to have a closer look at those!" Brainette says, allowing her curiosity to get the better of her and she walks over to inspect the strange plants up close.

"Brainette…" Brainy growls through his teeth. He wants to tell her that she is not being a good role model to encourage proper behavior from the smurflings by doing exactly what they were doing and wandering off without looking for danger first!

Babette and Baby Smurf are about to follow the elder smurfette, but they are stopped by Brainy. "Hold it you two, you're not going anywhere!" The red-capped elderly smurf says sternly.

"Aw…!" The smurflings whine.

Slouchy is shaking his head in bemusement until he notices something moving towards them from the gate. Startled, he turns around to look carefully – and saw two pairs of glowing yellow eyes staring straight at him! The eerie eyes are enough to send chills down this smurf's spine. With a shaky hand, Slouchy taps Nat's shoulder. When the nature-loving smurf turns curiously to his brother, Slouchy points to the scary figures heading their way. Nat takes one look, lets out a loud gasp and walks fearfully backward toward Brainy.

"Uh, Brainy…" Nat whispers to his older brother, tapping gently but urgently on his shoulder.

Annoyed, Brainy turns around, ready to rebuke Nat for distracting him. But the moment he notices the mysterious figures creeping toward them, Brainy's face turns pale with fear.

"Oh…my…Smurf…" he gasps.

Blissfully unaware of the drama taking place behind her, Brainette moves closer to one of the vines to get a better look at the strange blue mushrooms attached to them. The pulsing blue veins on the vines are definitely a clear sign of life which is being drawn into each of the mushrooms. This is all so new to Brainette; she had never seen any form of life evolve this way before! Curiously, she puts her hand carefully on one of the mushrooms. Scarcely a moment later she feels something inside it kicked against her hand. Startled, Brainette steps back and immediately takes off her backpack. After taking out her lantern she lights the candle inside before moving it behind a mushroom. The strange mushrooms seem to have some kind of semi-transparent skin, which allows the light from the lantern to shine through a particular one Brainette is looking at it quite avidly. Her jaw drops once she is able to see what is within the dome fungus.

Nothing on this planet could ever prepared her for what she is seeing. Could this be real? Is it even possible? Is she looking at something out of sheer hope, or is it fatigue from traveling so much all over the country last few weeks? She could only wonder, for inside this mushroom Brainette is looking at what appears to be a tiny, tiny naked baby smurf curled up peacefully in a fetal position.

"Brainy…" Breathlessly Brainette calls out to her mate, "Come here. There is something here I think you should have a look at!"

"Uh, Brainette, I think you should pay attention over here first," Brainy answers in a quivering tone. He and the other smurfs are slowly walking backward towards her, unable to take their eyes off two strange figures approaching them from the shadows of the trees surrounding this unusual garden.

"Honestly, Brainy! How could your _something_ be more important then what I have just fou – oh!" Brainette had just turns around in time to notice those unusual figures with glowing yellow eyes. The smurfs could only huddle together and watch fearfully as the creatures come closer and closer.

Once they are out of the shadows the creatures turn out to be two gargoyles – very much _alive_! The smurfs realize the gargoyles are somewhat a little taller than them, about five to six apples high. One is a male with blue skin and is bald with four small horns sticking out of his head. He is wearing a purple loincloth that straps over his right shoulder, and black belt around his waist. The other is a female with a pink skin and has blond hair with two long horns jutting proudly from her head. She is wearing a light pink dress, and a pink belt. Their eyes stop glowing as soon as they walk into the sunlight. As if recognizing their intruders, the gargoyles' expressions soften, making their half-dog, half-cat facial features less scary than they looked.

"Do you see what I see, Adam?" The pink gargoyle says quietly to the other gargoyle.

The blue gargoyle shrugs in disbelief. "I do, Eve, but truthfully, I thought they would never find their way back here in a million years!" he remarks, still staring at the smurfs, "Or at least not until the chosen ones are a few hundred years older…"

"Er, you seem to know who we are, but who are you?" Nat asks timidly.

The blue gargoyle smiles suddenly. "Why I am Adam and this is Eve, we are the guardians of this garden!" He cheers proudly.

"If you both are the guardians, then who owns this place?" Sassette asks, feeling there is more to the mysterious garden.

"She does, of course." Eve the pink gargoyle answers, pointing past the smurfs at something behind them.

The smurfs turn around and gasp. They are looking at the most beautiful human figure they have ever seen. Her long brown hair with blond highlights flows down to the earth below her feet, decorated with gorgeous, exotic-looking purple-pink flowers. Her blouse is a silky burgundy shade, and her ankle-length dress is made of green leaves. The most attesting feature on this woman's kindly, ageless face is her motherly purple-blue eyes.

"Welcome back, my children. Welcome back to your nursery!" The beautiful woman greets in a musical tone.

"Nursery?" Snappy says in puzzlement.

"Who are you?" Brainy asks in amazement.

"Smurfs, this is Gaia, the Earth Goddess." Eve answers for the woman in a reverent voice.

"Yes, it was indeed your nursery," Gaia says, smiling at the bewildered smurfs and begins to explain, "I remember the day when the powerful human sorcerer found my garden home and asked if he could plant his magical seed he had created into my soil."

"A powerful human sorcerer?" All the smurfs chime at once.

Gaia nods. "Right, you could say he is somewhat your 'father'. His name was Dieudonne," She begins reminiscing, "The name I believe is a rather interesting one. It means 'given by God'. This human had a very kind and loving soul. I allowed him to plant his seed in my soil, and from it the vines grew over there." Here Goddess indicates the area of the garden where Brainette was investigating earlier. "But when the vines first started growing, it produced only one smurf and one smurfette - at first. However, over the centuries the vines produced more and more smurfs and smurfettes. This is the largest amount the garden has grown so far!"

The Goddess pauses to notice the confused expressions of the smurfs' faces.

"I know what you are thinking." She assures them with a smile. "Yes. It is true that a human, a powerful sorcerer to be precise, created the original seed that spawned you smurfs, but is my earth that gave birth to you. Thus making you, like all creatures great and small on this planet, my children too."

An awkward silence falls upon the smurfs. They look to each other, hoping that one of them might know what to say about this.

"So, I guess this kind of means you are our 'mother', right?" Nat asks, breaking the silence at last.

"Right." Gaia nods.

Sassette grins. "Who'd knew…our mother is a Goddess!"

"And those purple-blue mushrooms growing on the vines…?" Brainette inquires curiously.

"Are in fact cocoons," Gaia answers, "Each one has a baby smurf or smurfette growing inside them."

Brainy gasps. "In the immortal words of Papa Smurf…_Amazing, simply amazing_!" He cries, and stares in astonishment at the field of mushroom pods that are attached to large vines .

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Brainy!" Snappy said with the same astonished expression.

"Neat!" The smurflings crow, throwing their hands in the air and creating sparkles of light around them.

When Brainy notices the dancing sparkles a thought occurred to him, and he turns to the goddess. "I have a question, Gaia." Brainy say hesitantly.

"Yes…" The Goddess kneels down in order to pay close attention to the red-capped elder smurf.

Brainy opens his mouth. "Out of all the smurfs that, er, smurfed from this garden why is it that only Babette and Baby Smurf are smurfed with magical powers?"

The Goddess smiles warmly at the question. "The answer is simple, my child. The sorcerer loved his two original smurfs so much that he wondered what his life would be like if he becomes one of his own creations. He realized that more smurfs and smurfettes would grow from my garden, so in his last breath, Dieudonne asked me if his soul could be transferred into a smurf."

"You mean…?" Sassette begins, her eyes going wide.

"The sorcerer's soul actually split in two and were placed right into these two young ones. Not quite what he had in mind, but the result turned out rather interesting if you ask me." Gaia finishes with a big smile.

"Wow!" Both smurflings gasp, looking at each other in amazement. But then Baby Smurf frowns in confusion and turns toward the goddess. "But how come neither Babette nor I remember being a human?" He asks.

Gaia nods again, understanding his perplexity. "Well, reincarnation is like coming into a new world. You don't remember your past life, because you are living a new life now. To put it simply you two are just starting over." The beautiful woman smiles, "In fact, most of the souls inside these pods are reincarnations!"

"Reincarnations of whom?" Slouchy asks in wonder.

The motherly Goddess smirks. "That you will figure out, I'm sure, when these smurfs hatch."

"Hatch…?" The smurfs all look at her with stunned expressions.

"Yes, give or take seventy-nine years roughly," Gaia replies. But then she hesitated, looking somber. "That is, if you have a decent home to raise these little ones. Otherwise I'm afraid we can only care for them a certain amount of time before we send them off in the real world to fend for themselves." The Goddess says truthfully.

"What!" The smurfs exclaim, wondering if they heard this Goddess correctly.

"I'm sorry, smurfs, but I have a rule and my beloved sister Mother Nature works hard in keeping that rule true to all life on this planet." Gaia says seriously.

"And what rule is that?" Nat demands, crossing his arms in a huff.

"Why, the 'survival of the fittest' rule – in the other words, the strongest shall survive," The Goddess says in a matter-of-fact tone.

Snappy doesn't like the sound of it. "I'm sure if you'd notice, Gaia, we smurfs have indeed proven that we _can and will_ survive." He points out.

Gaia smiles proudly at the smurfs. "I did indeed have noticed that, regardless of the demon Asmoday's intrusion. But, without a proper home, I'm afraid these soon-to-be born smurflings will not stand a chance."

"But we do have a home! The school is our home. Isn't that good enough?" Brainette cries out defiantly.

Gaia looks at Brainette thoughtfully. "Take a quick count at all the cocoons, my child, how many can you see?" She suggests to the smurfette elder.

"At the top of my head, I can see just over two hundred…" it dawns on Brainette what Gaia means, "...which, even though the old castle is big, it is still not enough space to raise that many smurflings and at the same catering to all the human students there…I see your point, my Goddess." Brainette sighs, admitting her error.

"So now what?" Snappy asks, looking worried now. He doesn't really want to move away from the castle, and yet, knowing that smurflings are on their way, he doesn't want to lose the chance to raise them too.

"Protect the smurflings…" Brainy whispers mostly to himself.

"What was that, Brainy?" Sassette inquires, turning to him.

"Protect the smurflings…" Brainy says a bit louder, "they're the ones that matter the most … That is what Hefty said to me just before Asmoday took him and Toughette prisoner."

"With all do respect Brainy; I don't think Hefty knew anything about _these_ smurflings." Brainette indicates the pod-covered vines.

"Maybe not, but I intend on keeping my word in protecting them." The intellectual smurf elder says confidently.

Snappy looks at Brainy in shock. "What about the ruby half of the Beetle Gem?"

"Oh, we're still going to get that fixed, but also in the process we will find a new home…a perfect home to raise these smurflings!" Brainy never felt such a powerful surge of leadership in his voice before. The smurfs and smurflings just stand there, gawking at him.

"Brainy? W-W-What about Hefty and Toughette?" Sassette stutters.

"We're not going to give up on them either!"

The blue gargoyle cheers loudly. "We are so glad to hear this, smurfs!"

Eve is just as glad, too. "Yes, in fact we have a brand new Life Stone you can use to protect your new home - when you find it, of course." So saying, the pink gargoyle takes a sparkling gem out of her pouch and, holding it in both of her hands; she proffers it to the smurfs who stare at it curiously.

"That is a very smurfy Life Stone, Eve, but how are we to carry it with us? It's kind of big for our backpacks." Nat points out.

"True," The female gargoyle agrees, "but you do have young Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf to help with that."

"What!" The young smurflings' jaws drop open and they stare at Eve with big round eyes. The pink gargoyle chuckles at their comical expressions.

"Well, those are your names, young ones. Gaia named you two herself as soon as you were hatched!"

"We have real names…" Sorcerer gasps, still in shock.

Brainette smiles. "Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf…how fitting."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure I would have figured their names out eventually." Brainy chuckles, pretending that he is not at all surprised.

"Oh please," his mate replies, playfully slapping his arm with the back of her hand.

"Go on, young ones; shrink this Life Stone so you may carry it with ease." The blue gargoyle whispers encouragingly to the smurflings.

With a big grin the smurflings again roll up their sleeves and wriggle their figures. As flickering lights pop around the gem it begins to shrink to the size of a small pebble, enough to fit perfectly in the palm of a smurf's hand.

"While you're at it, smurflings, why not shrink Puppy's locket too?" Nat suggests, placing the locket in front of them. Immediately the smurflings did as told and shrinks the locket as well. Nat picks it up and puts it in his backpack, glad to know that it would be much safer there than anywhere.

"Well this takes care of one problem…" Slouchy remarks as he picks up the pebble-sized Life Stone, "Now all we need to figure out is how to repair the Ruby half of the Beetle Gem."

"Have you tried the Fairy Tribe in Africa?" Gaia blurts out, not being able to resist enlightening them.

"Of course!" Brainette cries out, slapping herself on the forehead. "How could've I forgotten!"

"Brainette?" Sassette looks curiously at her adopted older sister.

"The African Fairy Tribe! Back in the days of the Old Smurfette Village the Fairies would come and visit us. We would make a big party out of it with dancing and music. They will be able to repair the ruby half, no problems. I wonder if the Fairy Prince would recognize me…" Brainette trails off, lost in thoughts.

"The Fairy Prince?" Brainy raises his eyebrow suspiciously and a hint of jealousy in his voice. It had not escaped him on how Brainette is suddenly gushing over some Fairy guy he hasn't met before!

"Oh you're right; he's probably the Fairy King by now." The bespectacled smurfette elder giggles. She lets out a soft sigh before continuing, "but in the day he was the most handsome fairy that ever smurfed. There hadn't been a smurfette that couldn't resist his charm, not even Toughette, if I remember correctly."

Gaia chuckles as she listens to Brainette's enthusiastic story of the Fairy Prince. With the wave of her hand she encourages a few large flowers to tilt over and pour clear fresh water mixed with sweet nectar from it's pollen into eight small cups which has magically appeared for the benefit of the smurfs.

"I have an unrelated question here." Brainy speaks up, wishing to change the subject immediately. "I remember when Baby, er I mean, Sorcerer Smurf, first came to the Smurf Village a strange letter arrived shortly afterwards claiming there was an error, and that B-ah Sorcerer had to be returned immediately. May I ask what that was all about?"

"Oh that…" Adam ducks his head, blushing. "Well the strangest thing is this. A certain chosen immortal stork misunderstood us when we asked him to move little Sorcerer to his crib, and thought we meant for him to deliver the young smurf to the Smurf Village." He adds, glaring up at a stork that is watching from up in the trees. The stork begins to sulk in embarrassment.

"You see smurfs; we care for the babies for about two years before allowing them to be delivered to their rightful home with their kind. This is done only because the nectar from the plants here gives them important nutrition at such a tender age. After about two years their digestive system is more evolved and we are able to send them out when the smurf elders would care for them." Eve explains. "Little Sorcerer was delivered about six months ahead of schedule. In other words, he was not supposed to be delivered to anywhere until then!"

"I see. Suppose that is one mystery solved then." Brainy ponders, scratching his white bearded chin.

"Wonderful. We should plan on heading to Africa if we want to get the Beetle Gem fixed!" Brainette exclaims, hinting that she would like to leave soon. Brainy shoots her an annoyed look.

"Before you decide on heading out on this long journey may I offer you some special nectar from my flowers?" The Mother Goddess says generously to the smurfs, "They just came in bloom and have produced the sweetest juices."

"Yes, thank you." Brainy gratefully accepts the Goddess' offer and takes a cup that has been handed to him.

Each of the smurfs takes a sip and instantly finds the liquid from the unique flower most delightful. It tastes almost as sweet as honey, but with a more almond flavor to it. They smack their lips appreciatively; they certainly enjoy the taste very much!

"Delicious!" Nat says approvingly, slurping it down happily.

"Yeah! It's sweet, but not too sweet. I like it!" Sassette declares. Brainette nods in agreement.

"So what else can you tell us about this Enchanted Garden, if you don't mind me asking?" Brainy blurts out, trying to make their conversation last as long as possible while they enjoy the nectar.

"Well according so some legends this place is also known as the Garden of Eden." Eve answers with another smile.

"Interesting, very interesting…" Brainette says thoughtfully, taking another sip of her drink. Perhaps staying to listen more of this garden isn't such a bad idea after all.

**OoOoOoOoOoOo**

_**PLEASE NOTE:** This chapter is based on some episodes from the animated series in the 80's and from fans that have read the comics which apparently described parts of the origin of the Smurfs (I never seen these comics, but assume they exist). I have created a few details of my own (mostly the part of Gaia being the 'mother' to all the smurfs, the two gargoyles, the Enchanted Garden, and of course my smurfettes). I hope that this theory made sense to you. If you have any comments about it, please share them I would love to hear what you have to say…_

_Also, don't forget to check my website for updated pictures based on this fanfic, and other fanfics I work on. You may find the links on my profile page here on fanfiction(dot)net. Thank you!_


	15. Wounds of War

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **

**First I wish to thank all of you that supported me during my time of grieving. My husband, Derek, meant a lot to me and even though he is gone, I still feel his soul is near me. I would also like to share a moment and thank some of my closest family, friends, and co-workers that have been there for me the most, and without their help and moral support I would still be up to my eyeballs in paper work with my husband's estate.**

**I am currently debt free. Everything is paid off. I don't owe anyone anything! I am taking care of my finances on my own. With the wage I make at my full time job I can easily cover my monthly bills, rent, and miscellaneous stuff, like food and clothes. This is a great achievement knowing that I can do this without financial support from anyone, even from family or friends. I do, however receive a lot of moral support from them, which I appreciate most of all. Now all that needs to be done is to save enough for a down payment to buy my own condo, or townhouse. That could easily be done within a year or so. **

**Last week was my birthday, and two of my husband's best friends were there. Normally these two men do not get along with each other. I remember trying to get them to come to my husband's birthdays in the past, but if one was going to be there the other wouldn't want to show. Last week they did not just put their differences aside and came to my party they actually had a conversation throughout the whole evening, as friends. It warmed my heart to see two of Derek's friends getting along.**

**The reason why I share this with all of you, my readers, is that I am dedicating this chapter to my friends (including my online friends like my beta reader, Tabby Tadavi), my boss and co-workers, and family that throughout the rough times, like death, I can count on them for support.**

**With Love,**

**Raven Child.**

**P.S.**

**Please don't forget to leave me a review of what you think of the story so far. I love to hear from you with any comments in relation to this story. I promise this story is almost complete!**

**Chapter 15: Wounds of War**

For a long while Hefty and Toughette stare at Brainy and Brainette, the expressions on their face showing utter disbelief and a hint of disgust. Brainy, Brainette and everyone else simply sit quietly and calmly, looking back at them. The silence is practically deafening.

Hefty finally finds his voice. "Are you telling us that we come from a plant?" He says in a strained voice.

"Vines, to be precise." Brainy corrects him with a nod.

"Ew," Toughette makes a face. "I think I just lost my appetite!" She grips, tossing her half-eaten cookie back onto the plate.

Nat shrugs. "Well, I guess we had to have come from somewhere."

"Absolutely," Snappy nods in agreement. "If I hadn't seen the Enchanted Garden with my own two eyes, I would have trouble believing it also!"

Sassette clasps her hands to her chest. "I personally think that it's neat that our 'mother' is actually the earth Goddess, Gaia!" She chirps enthusiastically. "Even though I was, technically, created by one of Pappy Gargamel's magic spells." She pauses with a frown, looking slightly disturbed at the thought. Moments later, however, a smile spreads across Sassette's face and she continues cheerfully, "But Gaia assured me that the blue clay that helped to create both me and Smurfette is also apart of her earth, thus, making us part of her children!"

"Fascinating," Hefty says in a huff, "I am at a loss for words here!"

Nat suggests eagerly, "Perhaps someday we can travel back to the Enchanted Garden, Hefty, and then you and Toughette can witness its wonder for yourself!"

"I suppose that would be acceptable," Brainette concurs with a nod. "Gaia did say we were more then welcome to come back for a visit at any time!"

"Cool!" Sorcerette cheers happily. "I miss Adam and Eve - they were two _very_ awesome gargoyles!"

"Yeah, well, one thing at a time smurfs!" Brainy interrupts, wagging his finger in admonishment. He is about to add something but he suddenly stops and stiffens as a surge of pain runs up his back causing him to wince, his aged face a mask of agony.

"Brainy? Are you alright?" Hefty asks uncertainly, watching in shock and concern as his bespectacled brother hunches over slightly with a soft groan, one hand pressing to lower part of his back. When his older brother does not answer him, Hefty looks over to the other smurfs. They too are showing expressions of concern at Brainy's apparent pain. Brainette leans closer to her mate.

"Do you want me to go get you some medicine?" She whispers.

"Maybe later," Brainy says gruffly, catching his breath. Gritting his teeth, he eases slowly back into his chair, closes his eyes and let out a small, tired sigh. Everyone wait expectantly for him to speak some more but he remain quiet. The moment of silence grows longer.

Becoming impatient as well as unable to resist his curiosity, Hefty decides to speak up. "Alright, I'll bite. What's wrong with your back?" The strong smurf asks, looking straight at his older brother.

Brainy opens one eye and looks back at Hefty rather irritably. "It's a long story," the aged smurf grunts.

Toughette rolls her eyes and crosses her arms in a huff. "Well, you know how much we love long stories, so start talking!" She demands.

"Perhaps another night…" Brainette quickly pipes up, attempting anxiously to change the subject.

"No, no. If they want to know we will tell them." Brainy interrupts, sitting up for a second. He leans back into his chair once more, trying to make himself comfortable.

"But your back…" The intelligent smurfette elder clearly is worried.

"…Is fine." He assures her. "The pain has stopped."

Brainette gives him a suspicious look. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm always sure." Brainy answers with a proud smirk.

Brainette frowns and gives Brainy a grumpy look. She is about to say something quite cheeky concerning his comment, but changes her mind and decides it isn't worth it. Instead, she lets out a sigh and rolls her eyes skyward in exasperation.

"Fine! We will tell you two the story," The bespectacled smurfette elder says resignedly, turning back to Hefty and Toughette.

**OoOoOoOoOoOo**

**1899 – The African Fairy Tribe, Not Far From Kraaipan south of Mafeking**

"Your visit here with us these past few weeks has been both a pleasure and blessing, dearest Brainette!" Khalid, the king of all African Fairies says smoothly. Even though his white beard betrayed his advanced age he is extremely handsome, enough to set any female heart, young or old, fluttering. By the smurf standard he stands at least one apple taller than his guests. All the same, he bows gallantly before the smurfette elder, takes her hand and kisses it tenderly. "And what beautiful young smurfettes you have raised! If Mama Smurf were still alive she would surely be proud of you!" He adds with a smile, looking over at Sassette and young Sorcerette admiringly.

Khalid's soft deep voice causes goose bumps of pleasure down the smurfettes' arms. All three female smurfs start blushing and giggling. "You were right, Brainette, he _is_ charming!" Sassette whispers breathlessly to her grey-haired adopted sister.

"Oh brother," Brainy groans under his breath. He and the other adult smurfs are sitting on cushions under a shady tree a short distance away, and none of them looks too happy at the way the Fairy King is receiving inordinate attention from the giddy smurfettes.

Young Sorcerer Smurfling is standing besides his elders, amusing himself by tossing a ball into the air and catching it with his hands. He looks up at Brainy and the others, noticing their facial expressions. He smirks, for he knows they are not approving of their host's putting the charm on the smurfettes. He himself also sneers, seeing that even his young playmate, Sorcerette, appears to be swooning over this elderly fairy.

"How come the smurfettes act funny around this guy?" Sorcerer gripes to the elder smurfs.

"Beats me, kiddo," Nat grunts, crossing his arms in a huff.

"Well, if you ask me it could be his green-leaf clothing, his dashing cape, the dark tan of his skin, or his naturally deep voice, " Slouchy suggests helpfully, "Or perhaps it is his wings that could give him the advantage over us?"

"Uh, no one asked you!" Snappy growls, cuffing him upside his head.

Suddenly a new voice calls out. "Smurfs! I have wonderful news!" One of the young African Fairy females comes hurrying eagerly toward them. "Thanks to the combination from our African soil, herbs, and our magic your ruby half of the Beetle Gem is now fixed!" With a smile she hands Nat a piece of ruby-topped Gem.

"Thank you," Nat bows politely, accepting the ruby half of the Beetle Gem.

"Excellent!" The Fairy King cheers. He walks over to the group, surrounded by the still swooning smurfettes. "Perfect timing. Now you must go gather the others; we will leave shortly, my daughter!" He instructs the young female fairy.

"Yes father!" She bows respectfully to her elder and flies off at once to do as she is asked. The king turns toward his blue visitors and after gazing at them for a moment, he seems a bit sad for some reason.

"I only wish you smurfs would reconsider and come with us," Khalid says. It comes out more of a pleading than anything else.

"Yeah, well, we kind of need to get back home as soon as possible!" Brainy comments rudely, still scowling.

"What Brainy is trying to say, your highness," Brainette quickly tries to smooth it out in a respectful manner to Khalid while giving Brainy an annoyed glare, "Is that we will camp here the night, then travel first thing in the morning. We should make excellent timing by mid-day!"

The king nods thoughtfully, not at all offended by Brainy's outspokenness. "Then I shall grant you safe journey, my dear, but I cannot allow my tribe wait another day. We must leave right away. There is something strange in the air," He cranes his head and glances around uneasily, "The humans in a nearby camp are restless. I personally don't feel safe here!" The king says, his strong voice holding a hint of nervousness.

"I understand," Brainette sighs, bending her head in acknowledgement.

Khalid continues, "I will miss you, lovely Brainette. Perhaps by our next visit your sister Toughette and her mate, Hefty will have reunited with you. I hadn't seen them since my wedding to my wife many centuries ago!"

"Yes, I believe that was roughly four months before we were able to find Hefty's home and we got to meet the rest of the smurfs from his village." The intelligent elderly smurfette elder agrees.

The old king shakes his head sadly. "It was a tragic thing that happened to both of your homes, my dear. Too bad we weren't able to be of assistance back then." Then Khalid smiles and bows low, "All we can do is look on to our future and live in the present. I shall look forward to our next reunion!"

"And perhaps our next visit won't be so rushed," Brainette nods again, returning the smile. "Thanks again to you and your tribe for repairing our Beetle Gem so quickly!"

Just then an elder female fairy comes striding over to them. "Your Highness,' she calls out, "The tribe is ready to go." She points toward the hundreds of the fairies who had gathered around with their families in an open clearing several yards away, holding their possessions in their arms and waiting patiently for a word from their ruler. Then the old female fairy glances over her shoulder at the blue visitors and asks hopefully, "Are our friends joining us?"

"I'm afraid not, my love," Khalid replies with a sad headshake. "Our friends wish to head off first thing in the morning, and where we are heading is out of their way." With the flap of his transparent wings the Fairy King rises above the ground. "Again, I wish you luck my friends. My we meet again soon!"

"Me too," Brainette says, with a respectful bow.

The smurfs watch silently as the Fairy Tribe follows their king into the air, flying towards the great mountains to the north. Brainette suddenly gets the sinking feeling that perhaps she and the other smurfs should have gone with them.

Brainy shakes his head, raises an eyebrow at his mate and remarks, "You have very skittish friends, Brainette. They sound as if they never been near a human camp before!"

Letting out a small, aggravating growl, Brainette shoots Brainy an angry look before she turns and storms away from him. This leaves Brainy with a perplexed look on his face.

"Do I even want to know what that was about?" Snappy asks his older brother in red.

"_Smurfettes_…there's just no understanding them, Snappy!" Brainy answers with a heavy sigh.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**EARLY NEXT MORNING - October 13th, 1899**

A cold mist covers the ground as the smurfs come crawling out of their tents they pitched just under the bushes, yawning and stretching to get rid of the kinks in their backs. The smurfettes also come out of their own tent under another bush several yards away, yawning and blinking sleepily as well. They practically jump when sounds of shooting muskets and loud but indistinct yelling break out unexpectedly behind them. Their heads turn sharply towards a short hill just across the field where the noises come from wondering what could be going on.

"What is that?" Brainy finally shouts to the other smurfs over the din.

Wide-eyed by all the frightening noises, Brainette glances at Brainy but does not answer him. Instead, she turns her head back to look towards the mound. It takes only a moment before she finally realizes what is happening.

"The humans…they are fighting!" She announces loudly.

"Well there's a surprise!" Snappy snorts sarcastically. "The humans are always fighting!"

"That's true, but what could these humans be fighting about?" Sassette asks innocently.

"Who knows, who cares!" Slouchy grumbles in a cranky tone.

The explosions boom even louder. A fireball rises up from behind the small hill, leaving a trail of black cloud of smoke in its wake. The sight makes the smurfs very nervous. Concerned for the safety of her beloved ones, Brainette turns and start giving out orders.

"We should hurry and clean up camp if we want to make it to the boarders of Europe around noon!" Brainette declares, hastily taking down the smurfettes' tent.

"Right. We will have to worry about breakfast later, I suppose," Brainy says with a hint of worry in his tone as he hurries off to help the other smurfs pull down their tents and to pack up their possessions, "I just wonder how we can avoid those humans. By the looks of it they are fighting in the area where we need to pass!"

Brainette pauses to consider that. "Perhaps I should scope it out then!" She replies snobbishly, dropping the rope that was holding up the tent and hurrying boldly towards the hill. Of course she was aware that Brainy has a point, knowing that in reality the safest route would be the wisest. But Brainette refuses to admit that and so she goes off to investigate the area anyway, just to see if there is a safe way to bypass the warring humans.

Brainy stares at her, his jaw dropping open in astonishment. "Ah, Brainette," he calls out to her, but Brainette walks briskly past him without saying anything or even so much as a glance in his way. Feeling a bit piqued because she had just given him a semi-cold shoulder, he drops everything he is doing and takes off running after her across the field toward the hill. "Don't you mean '_we_'?"

"If you must come who's there to stop you?" The intelligent smurfette elder answers coldly, still not looking at him. Aggravated by her attitude, Brainy grumbles something acidly under his breath but continues walking quickly along with her towards the hill.

Young Sorcerer and Sorcerette turns to Sassette. "Can we go too?"

"No, smurflings," Sassette answers brusquely, "You two stay here with us and help clean up!" Another explosion burst over the hill, and Sassette glances up and wrinkles her brow worriedly. "The way things are going, we should be leaving very shortly. We don't want to be caught unprepared!"

Both Slouchy and Nat are silently and anxiously watching Brainy and Brainette scurrying toward the hill. They have noticed how the tension between their two older siblings slowly building up, ever since they left the Enchanted Garden four years ago. It seems that whenever Brainette mentioned her friend Khalid's name, Brainy would react in a negative manner. Even when they finally met Khalid in person, it has not made the situation any better either. If anything, it only made things worse between Brainy and Brainette. With a deep sigh, Slouchy and Nat shake their heads in unison with dismay. It would be a matter of time before Brainy and Brainette would truly become more than aggravated with each other.

Having reached and climbing up the mound, Brainy and Brainette carefully poke their heads over the top of the hill toward the place known as the Boer Camps. There they glimpse a battle raging with stunning ferocity. Loud firearms are being fired, and men falling to their death amid cries of agony. Indeed it is a very terrible, very gruesome scene for anyone to witness - especially for a smurf.

"This is horrible!" Brainette gasps, realizing belatedly the seriousness of the danger they are in. "How are we going to get past all of this?" She looks straight at Brainy as she said this.

Brainy notices her attention is now on him, but instead of answering her he turns to her with a grumpy frown on his face. "Look, Brainette," he blurts out, "I have to ask, what is with you and the African Fairy King?"

The question is so out of blue, Brainette stares at him incredulously. "You choose _now_ to bring up this conversation?" Brainette shouts in shock. She sweeps her arm around her, indicating the battle brewing around them, and shakes her head at Brainy's incongruous comment. "Have you gone blind all of a sudden? We have a situation here, and we must think of a way to get around it. Since when does everything have to revolve _you_ and _your_ issues?"

"What are they doing?" Slouchy asks, looking curiously across the field toward the bickering elders on the hill.

"It looks like they are quarrelling…again." Nat replies with a sigh.

Sassette groans. "Well, they certainly picked a wonderful time to start doing that!"

"Indeed, it's too early for those two to be crowing their heads off at each other," Snappy yawns and sits down on a nearby rock. He figures the way the elders go on, this could take quite a while.

Sassette rolls her eyes skyward and sighs. "Come on smurflings, let's finish packing."

The young smurflings have been worriedly watching Brainy and Brainette squabble with each other. "I don't like it when our elders fight." Little Sorcerette says with a tiny whimper.

"Neither do I, little one, neither do I." The older smurfette with red braided pigtails replies sadly.

"Well, if you hadn't gotten the ruby half of the Beetle Gem busted we wouldn't have to be here now, would we?" Brainy squawks, waving his hands wildly in the air.

"Hey, I'm not the only one to blame here!" Brainette yells back. "You had your share of mistakes that led us to dangerous places, especially long before the incident with Asmoday and the Blucroditius Disease that took all of our friends away!"

"Don't bring my past into this!" Brainy says through his clenched teeth.

"Well, then why bring up my relationships with old friends and exaggerate it way out of proportion?" Brainette shoots back in frustration.

"Because not only haven't you stopped talking about him for the past four years, but _your_ friend hasn't stopped flirting with you since we arrived!"

"What? The Fairy King is just being a gracious host!" Brainette argues, jumping to Khalid's defence, "Besides, he might have had a point in taking his entire tribe to the safety of the mountains. He offered that we go with him and all…"

"Perhaps you should have gone with your precious _Kaw-lid_? I'm sure the two of you would make a fine couple!" Brainy huffs, his arms crossed across his chest.

"For your information it's pronounced _KHAH-leed_!" Brainette snaps angrily at her mate. "And another thing is that he already has a mate with three daughters and two sons!"

"That didn't seem to matter to him the way I saw him hold your hand during dinner the other night!"

Brainette stares at him. "Why are you acting like this? Are you jealous or something?" She shouts, "I thought we had agreed a long time ago to have our relationship strictly professional!"

Brainy is taken aback and blinks in surprise. "Jealous? I'm not jealous! I don't have a single jealous bone in my body!" Brainy sputters indignantly, trying to avoid the topic.

"Well, that's yet to be proven," The intelligent smurfette disagrees bitterly, shaking her head tiredly.

All of sudden there was a loud explosion far from the other side of the hill, and the flaming metal object comes hurtling over the battle area and towards the two elder smurfs.

"Brainette! Look out!" Brainy hollers. He threw himself at her like a bullet, tackling her out of the way.

The flaming object slams right in the very spot where Brainette and Brainy had stood a scant moment ago. The impact causes the object to detonate, and the shockwave sends the two elderly smurfs flying into a nearby bush. A number of small shrapnel pieces flew off in all directions. One jagged piece sails right into the bush…and found a mark.

"Brainy! Brainette!" The frightened Snappy and Nat shout at once. For a brief moment they stand there gawking, too stunned to move except to watch with horror their elders being nearly crushed by the explosion.

They wait, wondering if Brainy and Brainette are hurt but hoping they would emerge from the bush unscathed. But as moments passes Snappy begins to realize that Brainy and Brainette are not coming out of the bush after all. Not wasting another moment, he runs frantically across the field toward the hill. Nat turns to the others.

"Slouchy, stay with the smurflings. We've got to go help the elders!" Nat orders.

Slouchy nods his head and gathers the smurflings closer to him. Frightened as they are, the smurflings nevertheless wriggle furiously, protesting that they want to help too. Slouchy merely shakes his head at them and tightens his grip on them to prevent them from slipping away.

"But…" little Sorcerer pleads, looking hopefully at Sassette.

"Please, Sorcerer, just stay!" Sassette orders firmly. So saying, she runs off to catch up with Snappy and Nat as they head for the bush where Brainy and Brainette are hiding.

Meanwhile, Brainy Smurf groans and opens his eyes. Realizing that he is lying on top of Brainette sprawling face down on the ground, he blushes a little and tries to get up off her. But something is preventing him from doing so. It almost feels as if something is pressing on him, but it is hard to tell because he feels somewhat numb from his chest down. Indeed, even his legs have no feeling in them at all. Fear suddenly takes over. _What's happening to me? _For a minute or two he panics, struggling mightily to move his legs but to no avail. Just then Brainette groans underneath him, and he stops thinking of himself for a moment to glance down at his mate. _Is she alright? _ He wonders anxiously. If she were injured in any way, he wouldn't know what to do.

Brainette rolls over so she is face to face with her mate. Both of them smile awkwardly at each other. Each of them are relieved that the other is safe, but this position is now starting to become uncomfortable.

"Uh, thanks for saving me Brainy, but you can get off me now." The bespectacled smurfette whispers.

"Oh, of course," he chuckles, his face now a shade or two darker with embarrassment. He attempts to do as she requested. Again something stops him. It is when he notices that sensations are finally coming back to his lower body...along with a very unpleasant, sharp pain, as if something is stabbing him in the back. At this he grits his teeth and closes his eyes tightly.

"Brainy, I said you can get off of me. We have to go check on the others and find away to get past these humans!" Brainette says again, in an irritated tone.

Brainy opens his eyes and looks at her, his face contorted with sheer agony. "I'd love to, Brainette…but I think there is something stuck in my back. C-Could you do me a favour and check to see what it is?"

Brainette stares at him, suddenly concerned. He certainly appears to be in a great pain. "Hold on, let me see…" Slowly, gently she pulls her self up slightly in order to get a better look over his shoulder. What she sees could only exist in her worst nightmare. A piece of shrapnel, bigger than a smurf's hand, is embedded in the middle of Brainy's back. Brainette covers mouth, but the shock overwhelms her so much that she can not stifle her loud gasp.

When Brainy hears her gasp he knows right away it is not good. "H-How bad is it, Brainette?" He asked, afraid to hear what her answer might be.

Brainette regained her composure and shakes her head slowly and puts on a trembling smile. "Ah, it's not that…bad, really." She lies.

Brainy raised his eyebrow. Somehow, he finds what she said a bit amusing and lets out a little chuckle. "Brainette, you are a terrible liar."

Just then Snappy, Nat, and Sassette comes running, leaping over burning metal pieces that are shattered all over the ground in search of their elders. The battle that is taking place over the mound seems to be getting louder each minute, but that is far from the smurfs' concern. Their goal is to see if their older friends are alright. Snappy is the first to arrive, and he quickly looks into the bush where Brainette and Brainy had landed.

"Brainy, Braine – **_Oh my Smurf!_**" Snappy cries out in terror. He had immediately spotted the piece of metal sticking out of Brainy's back.

Nat arrives next with Sassette close behind. When they notice how badly injured Brainy is they let out a scream in distress as well.

"Smurfs, quick…help me carry him out of here!" Brainette calls out, still trying to wriggle out from beneath Brainy.

Snappy, Sassette, and Nat quickly come out of their stunned state and, carefully and gently, they gather Brainy in their arms and lift him up. Even so, Brainy cannot help but groan in pain with each movement as they carry him away.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The smurfs managed to travel a few miles away from the battle field and into rather decent cave they had discovered the other day, carrying the injured Brainy in their arms as gently as they could. Once they are inside Snappy and Nat carefully lay Brainy belly down on a flat rock situated near the back of the cave.

"Snappy, Sassette, go get the other smurfs and set up camp at the mouth of the cave," Brainette orders as she takes off her pink jacket, "And Nat and I will do what we can to save Brainy!"

"Ok," Snappy nods and takes off running along with Sassette to fetch Slouchy and the smurflings. They know without doubt there will not be any more journeying anywhere until Brainy is completely healed.

While Brainette is giving instructions to Snappy and Sassette, Nat is already taking off his backpack and pulling out his emergency operation equipment. He also takes out some candles and places them on as many flat rocks as he can find, lighting each candle until it is bright enough to see in the dark cave. Brainy lets out a loud groan, catching Nat's attention. Concerned, he bends down and looks his older brother in the eyes.

"Don't worry, Brainy," Nat tries to assure him, "We are going to do everything we can for you!"

Brainy does not answer him but instead let out another groaning sigh, rolls his eyes up into the back of his head and goes limp. For a moment Brainy appears lifeless.

"Brainy…?" Nat whispers in a quivering voice. For one terrifying second he worries perhaps his older brother may be gone. "Brainette!"

Brainette turns around quickly and leans over Brainy anxiously, checking his pulse. After a few tense seconds she closes her eyes and leans against the flat rock, letting out a small sigh of relief.

"He passed out, that's all," she assures Nat, "But his condition is deteriorating. We better act quickly and get started in taking out this shrapnel!"

"Right," Nat replies, picking up his razor-sharp scalpel.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sassette is sitting with her back against the wall just inside the entrance of the cave. The young smurflings are huddling against her on both sides of her. Snappy and Slouchy are seated on opposite sides of the smurflings. All five of them are nodding sleepily, barely dozing off. They are feeling exhausted, not only because of this war which can still be heard outside, but waiting anxiously for hours to hear the news concerning Brainy. They can't even see into the back of the cave, for Brainette and Nat had rigged up a large blanket from wall to wall to block prying eyes. There is nothing the smurfs can do except to keep on waiting patiently.

Eventually the sound of the approaching footsteps from deep within the cave causes Snappy to look up quickly and expectantly. It is Brainette, looking grim and wiping her hands in a dark-strained rag.

"Brainette?" Snappy nervously sits straight up. "H-H-How is he?" He stutters, scarcely able to get his words out for fear the news may be bad. The smurfette elder pauses for a moment before answering the younger smurf.

"He will survive." Brainette answers simply.

"**YAHOO!"** Snappy yells. He is so overjoyed, he leaps up and throws his cap high into the air. "Brainy's alive! He's alive!" His exclamations of joy abruptly woke the other slumbering smurfs and they all look at Brainette to confirm if it is indeed true. Brainette nods in the affirmative. At this the smurfs starts cheering loudly and hugging each other, rejoicing greatly while Sassette wipes tears away, too happy to say anything.

"Can we see him?" Little Sorcerer asks, scrambling eagerly to his feet.

Brainette shakes her head slowly. "It will be best if you let him rest, little one." She replies. Then, turning to Slouchy, she gestures toward the back of the cave and requests, "Slouchy, why don't you go in and help Nat get cleaned up?"

Slouchy nods and goes off to do as he is told.

Sassette notices that Brainette is heading toward the opening of the cave as though she is about to go outside. Concerned, Sassette sits straight up. "Where are you going Brainette?"

Brainette glances at her and smiles briefly. "Nowhere, I just need some fresh air." She answers softly and continues walking until she is outside of the cave. She looks over to the orange-red glow rising up from over the hill. So much fire and bombs go off that smoke covers the sky, making it appear as though it is night when it is only mid-day. _By now we could have arrived safely at the boarder to Europe,_ she thought sadly and with some resignation.

Finding a large rock just around the corner, she sits down behind it and out of view from the other smurfs. Unable to hold in her emotions any longer, Brainette covers her mouth to muffle sobs and starts shaking and crying for a good while. She prays that Brainy will be all right and that they can all survive long enough to make it home.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Brainy wakes up with an enormous headache. He groans softly and puts his hand up to his face. It takes him a moment before he realizes that he isn't wearing his glasses. And what's more, he is lying face down. He notices right away that his back is in great pain, making it difficult for him to move around comfortably. As he tries to remember why his back hurts so badly, he feels a bit of a draft and discovers he isn't wearing his red jacket or white shirt. Instead, a thickly woven bandage wrapped around his torso. As his headache eventually subdued, he begins to wonder where he is now. In order to find out, Brainy starts to push himself off the hard, uncomfortable surface of the flat rock so he can take a look around at his surroundings.

"Don't move, Brainy! Your back needs time to heal."

Brainy instantly recognizes the voice. Desperately Brainy looks around, squinting his eyes in an attempt to locate the owner of the voice. "Brainette…?" He calls out in a hoarse voice.

A hand rests gently on his arm. "I'm here, Brainy." The smurfette elder says softly. "Now lie down and don't move. You've been injured."

Brainy tries to focus his vision on his mate and can only sees a pink and blue blob, but the image is so dark he can not make out any recognizable details. "I can't see you," he gripes with a frown.

"Here, this should help." Brainette responds. She picks up Brainy's glasses from a nearby rock and places them on his face.

"Yeah, that does." Brainy smiles warmly at her. The first thing he notices is that Brainette has her light pink jacket off. She just has on her long pink skirt, short-sleeved pink top, and a white apron on. _She only wears that if she is cooking something_, he speculates. He then takes this opportunity to view his surroundings more clearly. With a concerned expression, Brainy brings his attention back to Brainette.

"Where are we? How long was I out?"

"We are a couple of miles from the Boer Camp. We should be safe here until you are well enough to travel again." Brainette pauses. "And Brainy, you were out for a couple of days."

"Ah. And the others?"

"Gone to get firewood. They will return soon."

"Oh," Brainy then falls quiet, resting his chin on his arms as if he is thinking.

"Brainy, what's wrong?" Brainette asks anxiously, noticing an odd expression on his face and wondering if he might be nauseous because of pain.

"I'm just trying to remember what happened," Brainy squints his eyes, racking his brain for any clue why he ended up in this condition like this.

Brainette takes a long breath. "Well, we were arguing in a field, at the top of the hill, and that's when the humans' war became more aggressive. There were explosions, sounds of many guns going off and…"

"Stop!" Brainy orders suddenly, covering his mate's mouth with his hand. "On second thought, I don't think I want to remember. It sounds like a very bad experience!" He says shaking his head slowly.

"Yes, it was." Brainette nods solemnly in agreement and then, with a half smile, she quips, "But we survived it, and this could be quite something to tell the smurflings someday!"

"Oh yeah, the smurflings," The injured smurf soon becomes lost in a reverie, knowing that he would soon be a parental guide to hundreds of young smurfs and smurfettes. This is a moment he had often dreamed of as a younger smurf. Memories floods his mind, taking him back to the days when he'd pretend he was being just like Papa Smurf, walking around the village calling his brothers his 'little smurfs'. But now it seems his dream is coming true…soon Brainy will indeed be just like his mentor, raising a whole new generation of smurflings! But that would require a lot of help, for he knows he cannot do it alone. Brainy hopes to have Hefty and Toughette out of their crystal prison before then. First, though, he would need to heal; he _has to_, in order to use his sapphire half of the Beetle Gem. It won't work for him if his body isn't 100 healthy and able.

Brainy's reverie was soon broke when he notices Brainette getting up and walking off towards the campfire near the mouth of the cave. A steaming black pot can be seen hanging over it.

"I made some vegetable broth. Would you like some?" She asks sweetly.

"Uh, sure, I'll try some." He replies uncertainly. Brainy is not sure if he is hungry at this moment, but he will try to humour Brainette by having something to eat.

"I hope it's alright," the bespectacled smurfette elder says as she comes back carrying a small bowl filled with broth and a spoon. "I didn't have many spices with me."

"That's ok. I'm sure it will be fine." Brainy responds, feeling slightly out of breath already because of his injury. With bandages wrapped so tightly around his torso, it is not only difficult but also painful to take a long breath. Despite the pain he tries once again to push himself up, but realizes he is too weak to succeed.

"Please lie down, I told you not to move - you were hurt really bad!" Brainette scolds him. She sits on a smaller rock and brings the bowl up to his face.

"Really…hardly noticed…" The intelligent elder smurf grunts sarcastically.

Brainette smiles. "Come on, eat up. This will help build your strength." She said, dipping the spoon into the broth and bringing it up to Brainy's mouth. He harrumphs once and tentatively opens his mouth. The taste of the warm broth fills his mouth and is delicious – he IS hungry after all, he realizes now – but almost immediately it turns to an awful, metallic taste. He instantly made a face but tries to shallow anyway, and is able to gulp it down. Noticing the expression on his face, Brainette sighs.

"I told you that my broth wasn't that good." She says regretfully.

Brainy shook his head. "It's not that. I have this metallic taste in my mouth!"

"Oh," _well at least it wasn't the broth_. "It's probably from the injuries," Brainette says, feeling relieved. "H-Here, have some more broth? Perhaps it will wash away the metallic taste."

As Brainy accepts a second spoonful of Brainette's broth he notices her hand is trembling slightly. _Is she alright_, he wonders. The only other time Brainy ever noticed Brainette tremble was the day when they had to burn down the Old Smurf Village. His bespectacled mate attempts to smile cheerfully as she feeds him a third spoonful. Brainy could see in her eyes are red. Apparently she had been crying not too long ago, and is now on the verge of crying once more. It couldn't be because of him, could it?

As Brainy muses, he is slowly remembering the last few minutes – that is, just before a large metal fireball comes hurtling down toward them. The things he had said to her in anger. _How could I be so mean?_ Perhaps it's the karma… getting this injury is a fate returning all the bad things he had ever done back in the Old Village, especially to his best friend Clumsy. To this day, he still misses his laugh and simple way of thinking. There would never be any way he can make up to Clumsy or any of the other smurfs from Old Village - they are all gone now, having lost their lives to the Blucroditius Disease. But perhaps there is a chance for him to make it up to Brainette for being mean to her earlier.

"I'm sorry," Brainy suddenly blurts. Brainette stops spooning the broth toward him and looks at him in shock.

"For what?" Brainette asks tentatively.

Brainy tilts his head and looks at her. "For all the mean things I said to you back in that field. I guess I really was jealous of the way Khalid spoke to you." He replies sheepishly.

Brainette is a bit taken aback. "Oh, d-don't worry about it. It's forgotten," she shrugs, trying to show him it is no big deal.

"Not to me it hasn't," Brainy says firmly. He reaches out with one hand and places it just behind where her neck meets the back of her head. "I want to show you how sorry I am."

"Wh-What are you d…" Before Brainette could finish her question, Brainy pulls her up to his face and kisses her gently on the lips. After a few moments both smurfs pull away. Stunned Brainette stares at Brainy and put her hand to her lips.

"Why did you do that? It's not like you to do something that random," She whispers, still unable to believe that Brainy had just kissed her.

Brainy shrugs. "Guess a near death experience can do that to a smurf." He quips, and raises an eyebrow when he notices that Brainette now has a smirk on her face. She is rubbing her cheek closest to her mouth. "What's so funny?"

"Your beard…it tickled." She says in a bashful giggle.

"I see," Brainy smiles, "So is this your way of saying you liked it?"

Brainette blushes. "Maybe," she says, not willing to give him a straight answer.

"Would you mind if I kiss you again?" He asks hopefully.

"I-I don't know…"

Brainy decides to take the chance, and pulls her in again for another kiss. To his relief Brainette does not resist. Maybe she really does care for him? He has a warm, happy feeling that she does after all.

A few minutes later Sassette and the smurflings arrives at the mouth of the cave, each carrying an armful of wood. They take one look and their jaws drop open in shock, hardly believing what they are seeing.

"Eeew," little Sorcerer scowls, his tongue sticking out like he is about to be sick.

"Shh," Sassette hisses, putting a finger to her lips. But she is smiling. "Let's give them a moment. Come on." So saying, they carefully put down the wood in a pile and then Sassette ushers the smurflings back outside.

"Awe, but its cold out there, and I don't like those explosions." Little Sorcerette whines.

"It will only be for a moment, Sorcerette. I promise." Sassette assures, turning her head back in time to see Brainy and Brainette pull back from each other. The elders are smiling and looking into each other's eyes, unaware that the smurfs had just left the cave.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The sound of someone sniffling wakes Brainy up once more. He grabs his glasses that is placed beside him and puts them on his face. It doesn't take Brainy long to notice little Sorcerer Smurfling crying quietly beside the large rock that now serves as a bed for the bespectacled elder.

"What's wrong, Sorcerer?" Brainy asks in a soft voice.

Sorcerer jumps a little, surprised to hear his elder speaking to him. He peers nervously up at him like a deer caught in headlights. Brainy waits patiently, and after a while the little smurfling takes a deep breath, sniffles once more and finally answers his elder.

"You almost got smurfed, elder," little Sorcerer says in a small voice. "The others just explained to me and Sorcerette about what happened to the Old Village. All the other smurfs and smurfettes are all gone. How come I can't remember any of them? I only remember you smurfs. What would happen if you are smurfed just like the other smurfs from the Old Village?"

Brainy blinks in surprise. "What happened to the Old Village does not mean that I would meet the same fate." He says soothingly to the distressed smurfling. He reaches down and strokes Sorcerer's little blue cheek reassuringly.

"But what if it does…? Sorcerer Smurfling whimpers, "I don't want you to get smurfed. I don't want anyone to get smurfed!"

Brainy is about to answer the young smurfling when he is interrupted by a loud explosion not too far off. The boom rumbled so loud that it woke up the other smurfs from their slumber. They all look around in panic.

"Those humans are still fighting?" Brainy cries in astonishment.

"They hadn't really stopped since this morning…well, I don't think they did!" Snappy replies in a groggy tone.

Another loud explosion goes off, and the sound echoes through the cave. "They sound as if they are getting awfully closer!" The bespectacled smurf elder says anxiously. He suddenly does not feel safe being in this cave anymore. Desperately Brainy tries to get up from his flat rocky bed.

Brainette notices her mate struggling to get up. Concerned, she quickly jumps out of her sleeping bag and rushes over to him. "Brainy, I told you to stay down. You are not able to travel anywhere just now!" She reminds him firmly, grabbing him by the shoulders and attempting to push him back down.

"No!" Brainy argues in a loud voice, "Please, for once, just believe me when I say we have to leave! The humans…they are moving towards us!" He looks pleadingly at Brainette. For an instant it seems that they just had a telepathic link. The same thought crossed their minds and the words -_'__protect the smurflings. They're the ones that matter the most'_ - echoed through their ears.

"You know I'm right, Brainette. We have to get out of this cave – NOW!" Brainy says seriously to his mate.

Brainette have to concur to that; the situation has indeed becomes quite dangerous. She nods once, turns abruptly to the other smurfs and gives orders once again.

"Sassette, Slouchy, grab our things. Snappy, Nat help get Brainy up. Come on Smurflings, we are leaving!"

The smurfs make it only half a mile from the cave, but it is enough to remove them out of the danger. From where they are, the smurfs watch as a group of humans come running towards the small cave they had just evacuated with the enemies following them closely. The enemy cannons from some distance away are firing at the Boer people, and within a short while the cave entrance is destroyed in the process.

Slouchy is shaken. "That was a close call." He says with relief.

"Those poor humans! I wish we could do something for them." Sassette shakes her head sadly, feeling guilt.

"But we can't, Sassette," Brainette gives her adopted sister a consoling hug. "We must move on and find a better shelter."

While they are journeying Snappy and Nat are walking at a slow pace, side by side with Brainy between them, trying to support him so he can walk. But with a groan, Brainy closes his eyes and slowly leans forward as if he is about pass out. Pain has become too much for him, and he is getting woozy as well as exhausted.

"Come on, Brainy! Snap out of it!" Snappy complains loudly as he begins to realize just how heavy his older brother can be when he isn't making an effort to stand straight.

"Hang in there, Brainy," Nat pleads, "We will get you somewhere so you can rest. But for now please try to stay awake!"

Brainette, noticing their distress, come running over and check on Brainy's condition. Her face becomes grim when she realizes that it doesn't look good. "He's not going to make it!" she exclaims, looking as though she is on verge of tears, "He lost too much blood during the operation when we took out the shrapnel!"

Nat looks alarmed. "Now what do we do, Brainette?"

"Smurfs!" A familiar voice calls out from above, startling all the smurfs.

With surprise and relief, the smurfs look up in time to see Khalid and seven of his strongest followers gliding down towards them. "Boy, am I glad we decided to go back to look for you after we noticed the war brewing in the Boer Camps the other day!" The Fairy King declares in a tone of sheer relief.

Brainette wastes no time. "Khalid! Brainy is badly hurt!" She cries in a panicky voice, running frantically toward the old fairy. "Can you help us, please?" She looks up at him desperately.

The old king wrinkles his brow with concern. "Then we must get him out of here! Naeem, Sulaiman, grab Brainy!" He barks out to his followers, "The rest of you help the other smurfs! We must fly them back to our shelter in the mountains!" So saying, Khalid picks up Brainette and his followers gathers up the rest of the smurfs. Thus done, he and his Fairy tribe take off in a long flight, their wings humming furiously as they head back towards the mountains far away, leaving the still raging war behind them

**OoOoOoOoOoOo**

_ Present _

"We were very fortunate that Khalid came for us," The white-haired Brainette is saying, sipping a warm cup of tea, "The healers of his tribe were able to give Brainy some medicines that saved him. Almost a month later, we were able to finally leave Africa and come home. Unfortunately, the injuries Brainy had suffered left him permanently in this condition," She sighs. "As we had explained before, one has to be 100 healthy and strong to use the Beetle Gem. Of course that meant Brainy would no longer be able to use the sapphire half the Beetle Gem!"

The now-grown Sorcerer sits straight up. "That is why the elders began training Sorcerette and me to use the Beetle Gem. They figured since we were born with magic powers that the Gem would adapt to us easier, and it did!" He declares proudly.

"Wow," Hefty gasps. He leans back against the soft cushions of the couch, still mulling over what he had just heard. He is not sure what to think of his brother now.

"You said it, Hefty." Toughette agrees with the same stunned expression that was on Hefty's face. "That was indeed very brave of you, Brainy!"

"Not that," Hefty corrects his girlfriend, but then pauses to think for a moment. "Well, that too, but I was actually referring to the fact that I nearly got smurfed when the Smurf Dam nearly crushed me, and the swift current draggedme across the ocean to the shores of the Smurfette Village. As you can all tell, I healed completely afterwards." Here Hefty glances at his brother and knits his eyebrows in concern. "How is it that you get one injury on your back, Brainy, and you had to suffer in that condition for the rest of your life?"

Brainette thought for a moment. "Probably because you were only 150 years old when the Smurf Dam burst, Hefty," she explains, "Brainy was nearly 600 years old when that shrapnel hit him. Apparently age is a factor we must consider here."

"There, are you happy now? You are all caught up!" Brainy grumbles in a cranky tone, mostly because he is still feeling the agony in his back again.

"Almost," Toughette speaks up. "What about how you smurfs suddenly decided to leave Europe and make home here?"

Sassette shrugs. "Well, it was either leave our home or face World War I."

"World War I?" Hefty and Toughette do not like the sounds of this.

"That's right," Snappy nods soberly. "Apparently the Boer War was only the beginning for all of Europe."

"We manage to leave our home with Cassandra, one of Gloria's Great-Great-Great grandkids, and her family before Germany attacked Belgium." Nat adds in.

"Yeah, and eventually we made it to a country called Ireland," Slouchy says slowly, "There we boarded a huge ship…which ended up on the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean on its' first voyage, nearly taking us down with it." This is said with a hint of regret. Both Brainy and Brainette shudder and make a horrified, queasy face. Apparently they are remembering that awful experience.

"I told you smurfs to listen to me," Brainette growls, shaking head as though to clear away the horrible memories, "Anything dubbed _'the unsinkable'_ is just screaming for trouble!"

Hefty and Toughette look at all the older smurfs with shock and concern. They both feel they have really been left out on so many of the adventures these smurfs have gone through. Part of them wish they were there to help protect the journeying smurfs, while the other half is somewhat glad they had missed it. Brainy notices the confusion on the younger, stronger smurfs' faces and understands what they must be thinking. He lets out a deep sigh and resumes speaking to them.

"Let's just say that if it weren't for a rescue team of humans from Canada who came to pick up Cassandra, her kids, and the other survivors from the doomed ship, we would have all froze waiting for a rescue ship from Europe!" He says stiffly, "After landing in Newfoundland we decided to cross this country until coming to the west coast here. Cassandra and her family found a decent place in the city while the rest of us eventually found this place and made it our home." With that Brainy leans back in his chair and closes his eyes.

"But…" Toughette again speaks up.

"It's late," Brainette interrupts her suddenly. She had noticed Hefty letting out a huge yawn. "And you two are tired anyway."

"Brainette has a point." Snappy says, standing up and scratching his behind, "Why don't Sassette and I take you to Sorcerette and Sorcerer's room?"

Once again Hefty and Toughette look at each other. With a shrug Hefty looks back to Snappy. "Fine," He sighs. He then turns to his aged brother. "Are you going to be ok, Brainy?"

Brainy opens his eyes and looks at his younger stronger sibling in surprise. _'Is Hefty actually worried about me?'_ He muses wonderingly. With an attempt to smile, Brainy once again addresses Hefty. "Yeah, you go on. I'll see you in the morning before you go on your nature hike with Nat and a group of the smurflings." He says reassuringly.

Reluctantly, Hefty nods, raises from his chair and follows Sassette, Sorcerette, Snappy, and Sorcerer out of the living room with Toughette right beside him. Nat and Slouchy stay behind to tidy up, taking the teapot and cups back into the kitchen. Once they are alone in the living room Brainy and Brainette turn to each other.

"I feel it that you've delayed on your medicine long enough", Brainette chides soothingly and lovingly, "I should get you to our quarters so you may take your medicine before going to bed."

Brainy harrumphs, but for once he had to concur that she is right. "Alright," He says with another small sigh.


	16. Bedtime

**Chapter 16: Bedtime**

"Ok, good night smurfs! See you in the morning!" Sorcerette says cheerfully, waving her hand at Sorcerer and Hefty and watching as Snappy lead them off down the hallway.

"All right, Sorcerette and Toughette," Sassette chirps as soon as the smurfs are out of sight, "Follow me, please." So saying, she goes in the other direction down the hallway with the younger smurfettes in tow. Minutes later they come to a stop at a door. "Toughette, this is where you and Sorcerette will be sleeping," Sassette declares, and opens the door into a darkened room. Fumbling in the darkness, the Elder finds and turns on a lamp beside one of the beds - and instantly frowns at what she sees in the now brightly lit room.

Curious, Toughette walks in to have a good look at her new room. Her jaw drops open in disbelief at the sight of the piles of clothing draping over the two twin beds, a couple of tables and even chairs. From ratty T-shirts to wrinkled skirts, to shoes, many of them quite scuffy, to smurf hats, all of different shapes and colors. Indeed, the clothes are all over everywhere, even under her feet.

"So, ah, where is my bed? Or better yet, is there a floor?" Toughette quips, kicking away quite a few clothes lying around on the unseen floor – which results in getting her feet tangled up in them, and she trips over with a squawk

"My thoughts exactly," Sassette growls, turning around to glare at Sorcerette. "I thought I told you to clean your room!"

"Well, it was…" Sorcerette sheepishly replies, "That is, until this morning when I had a wardrobe crisis!"

"A wardrobe crisis! You've gotta be smurfing me!" Sassette huffs, placing her hands firmly on her hips.

"Oh relax - this can easily be fixed – all it needs is just a little magic…." The magical smurfette raises her hands and wriggles her fingers. "and voila!" Sparkling magical dust fly from her fingers and almost instantly most of the clothes rise off the floor, the chair, and the beds. As the clothes glide over to her dresser they fold themselves nicely in mid-air and settle neatly into the drawer. The shoes and hats swoop into the closet just before the door is magically closed. The room now looks as tidy as ever.

"Well, I guess that is an improvement." Sassette says with a sigh. She then turns to Toughette. "You can sleep over there by the window." The elder with braided pigtails remarks, gesturing toward the bed up with a light blue quilt and a matching pillow on top of it.

"Oh, goody," Toughette says semi-sarcastically. She notices a forgotten pinkish-purple shirt still draped over her bed. "Ok, for future reference, Sorcerette," she picks it off, scrunches it up into a ball and tosses it at her new roommate, "If we are going to share a room together, please keep _your_ wardrobe crises on _your_ side of the room!"

"I can tell rooming with you is going to be interesting." Sorcerette smirks, catching her shirt with one hand.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

In the other room far down the hallway Sorcerer Smurf is laying on his back in his bed, looking up at the ceiling. This is the first time he is sharing a room with another smurf since he was a smurfling. He hears a seesaw-like hum of his roommate's snoring and looks over to Hefty in his bed. Sorcerer had seen how quickly Hefty fell asleep shortly after Snappy left their room. The young smurf figures it is because Hefty probably is still be feeling the effects of jetlag. There is so much his older brother, being from the medieval century, has to adjust to this new timeline.

He wishes he knew a spell that could help Hefty adjust a lot faster, but his Elder, Brainy Smurf, had warned him to give the strong smurf plenty of time to become accustomed to his new surroundings. Sorcerer scowls; in his mind he can still hear his elder's voice lecturing him about the usage of his magical powers. It also reminds him of what happened earlier this evening. Again, Sorcerer looks over to the slumbering Hefty Smurf.

With a huff, the young magical smurf is unable to take it any longer. He could not sleep…there is something on his mind that's bothering him, and he has to talk to someone! Sorcerer Smurf extends his right hand out towards his new roommate and wriggles his fingers. By doing so, he creates glittering magic dust from the tips of his fingers. The dust floats over and begins tickling Hefty's nose.

Hefty snorts loudly, waving his hand over his face to clears away the sparkling dust. "What the…?" he grumbles groggily, cracking open one tired eye.

"Hey Hefty, you awake?" Sorcerer whispers.

With a growl, the strong smurf looks irritably over at Sorcerer. "I am now! What's wrong with you?" He spat angrily.

"Sorry, I just wanna talk." The young magical smurf gives his roommate a puppy-dog look.

Hefty groans, slapping a hand over his eyes. "Couldn't this wait till morning?"

"Actually, no… There's just something on my mind and I have to get it out."

"And it has to be now? In the middle of the night?" Now very annoyed, Hefty sits up with another growl.

Sorcerer flinches, but he quickly recovers and sits up to look bravely back at him "Well, yeah. If you don't mind, Hefty, I mean, there aren't many other smurfs my own age around here except Sorcerette."

Hefty looks puzzled. "I don't get it…what do you mean by that?"

Sorcerer had not meant to babble, but he had been bottling it up inside him for so long that it just came tumbling out of him. "You don't know what it is like being the 'baby' of the Smurfs," he continues rather agitatedly, "Now that I'm an adult smurf I'm supposed to prepare to become a responsible leader someday. However, the problem is, I barely even had a smurflinghood! Do you know what that's like, Hefty?"

"Ah…" Stifling a yawn, Hefty tries to analyze just what Sorcerer Smurf said even as his tired mind fights going back to sleep. He tries to shake his head to show he can't think of something else to say. But finding it unable to hold his head up much longer, he wearily leans against his pillow for support.

"Look, Hefty," Sorcerer says, leaning forward and looking intently at his roommate, "I know what you think of me and Sorcerette. Part of my many talents is telepathy."

"What?" Startled, the strong smurf sits straight up, suddenly and fully alert with what this young smurf formally known as Baby had just divulged.

"Yup, I can read minds…Well, most of the time anyway." Sorcerer shrugs, looking a bit shyly.

"Most of the time?" Hefty raises an eyebrow with interest.

"Sometimes there are too many thoughts talking at once and it is hard for me to concentrate." The magical smurf sheepishly admits. "I know Sorcerette has the same problem. She and I, however, can communicate with each other quite easily without needing to speak a single word!"

"Fascinating," The tired strong smurf yawns again. "So what is it you think I feel about you and Sorcerette?" He adds, pretending to have some curiosity in this unusual subject.

"Ok, I understand that it's obvious that we aren't the same young smurflings you once remembered us in the past, for one thing."

"I suppose we all have to grow up in our own smurfy way…" Hefty stifles yet another yawn.

"But that's just it!" Sorcerer exclaims, sitting straight up. "I don't want to grow up!"

"Ah, technically, you don't have a choice." The strong smurf slumps deep onto his pillow.

Sorcerer looks frustrated. "Don't you want to know what it would be like to be immortal? Never have to grow older, ever? I mean, to me you are definitely the youngest 657 year old smurf I ever met! So, technically, you have already cheated aging in a matter of speaking!"

Hefty shakes his head. "I've also cheated death a few times, but you don't see me jumping up and down over it!" He grumbles.

"Yeah, I was told about the smurf dam incident," Sorcerer replies, nodding his head. "The entire Old Village apparently was upset over it. That is, until you finally returned after spending time at the Smurfette Village." He shifts his position on his bed and continues, "But back to the immortal question, though. It will be a matter of time when you too will grow as old as Elder Brainy!"

"Not for another six hundred years, I'm sure…" Hefty blinks heavily, trying to fight the urge to just go back to sleep.

"You and Toughette are the protectors of the smurflings. I'm sure you know that," Sorcerer tries to explain patiently, "Not only that, Elder Brainy has often drilled me and Sorcerette on the same role, too. Caring for the little ones are just as much our responsibilities as yours. But…" Here he looks worried. "But what if something terrible were to happen? Has it ever occurred to you that if anything were to happen to the Elders…and even us… there would be no one to look after the smurflings? They will be orphans, like we were when the Blucroditius Disease attacked the Old Village!" With that, Sorcerer stares earnestly at Hefty with wide eyes.

Hefty's eyes pop wide open at Sorcerer Smurf's remark on the mortality of the smurfs. Perhaps the young magical smurf has a point. Hefty pulls himself back to a sitting position and looks back at Sorcerer, but for once he is unsure what to say.

Sorcerer looks down as if ashamed. "I guess what I'm saying, Hefty, is that…I fear death. I fear growing old and not being able to fulfill my destiny as the leader of all that is Smurf. At least that is how it's supposed to be, according to my Elders!" Sorcerer frowns. "Sometimes I just wish they'd smurf up about it already!" He shouts rather forcefully, covering his ears as if he could still hear Brainy's voice nagging at him about his destiny.

Taken aback, Hefty hesitated for a moment before he opens his mouth to ask a rather tentative question, "Is that why you snapped at Brainy earlier this evening?"

Sorcerer sighs, takes his hands off his round ears and looks at Hefty rather unhappily. "Don't get me wrong. I totally love and respect my Elders!" Sorcerer sighs again. "It's just so much for one smurf to know the heavy weight of responsibility he will eventually endure alone." His shoulders sag, and Sorcerer sits there brooding moodily.

"Hey, you're not alone Sorcerer!" The strong smurf winks at his roommate, "You will also have Sorcerette helping you as well as Toughette and myself. We can all work and raise the smurflings together!"

Sorcerer begins to smile at Hefty. "Yeah, I know." He replies, feeling a bit better. He is glad that Hefty and Toughette are here in Canada with smurfs. It is also great to have a smurf his age to talk to, even though Hefty is technically still older than him. "Thanks dude." Sorcerer says and, before he realizes it, he lets out a big yawn.

"Anytime," Hefty smiles back. "Now let's get some sleep, shall we? I want to be alert when we go on our first hike in these new woods!"

"Ok, 'night Hefty." Sorcerer Smurf leans back into his pillow, rolls over to his left with his face toward the wall, and closes his eyes. Slowly he drifts off to asleep.

"Night Sorcerer," Hefty lets out one last yawn before lying back down and turning on his right with his back toward his young roommate. For an instant Hefty feels a little worried when he thought back to what Sorcerer said about immortality. However, he decided that now is not going to be the time to worry about that. Instead, he snuggles beneath his blanket and closes his eyes. Eventually the only sound that is heard in their darkened bedroom is the noisy, seesaw-like hum of their snoring.


	17. Lessons of the New World

**Chapter 17: Lessons of the New World**

_The soft calmness of the breeze flowing past his face brings peace to his whole being. Feeling content, Hefty looks around at his home village. He frowns. It isn't his home anymore. All the houses have been burnt to the ground. The wind shifts and now blows in another direction. Hefty turns towards where the wind is blowing and now finds himself in a different place._

_This land is strange to him. The trees are much taller then they are back in the forest he once knew. Strange metal birds are flying high in the sky. A lost feeling washes over the strong smurf. Where is he? How is it that he ended up in this strange new world? These questions and more swim throughout his mind._

_Suddenly a loud screechy noise causes him to cover his ears. The words **'Thunder!'** rings loudly and repeatedly with a deafening beat. It feels as if the whole world is going to crumble beneath him._

_OoOoOoOoOoOo_

Hefty wakes with a scream. He blinks, peers about him and realizes he is still in his bed in the room he now shares with Sorcerer. But he can still hear loud, rhythmic sounds reverberating around their bedroom. Filled with dread, he looks frantically around trying to pinpoint where the noise comes from. That is when he notices Sorcerer sitting up in his bed staring wide-eyed at him.

"Whoa, you ok dude?" The younger smurf asks with concern.

"What is going on? Where's that horrible noise coming from?" Hefty cries, covering his ears for fear he would become deaf from all the wailing noises that seem to come out of nowhere.

Sorcerer looks at the box sitting on a little table beside his bed and points toward it. "You mean the music from my alarm radio right here?" Hefty takes his hands off his round ears and gawks at it. Sure enough, the loud sound is blaring from the alarm.

"What is that? You keep a group of Harpies in that little box?" Hefty shouts in disbelief.

"Um, I wouldn't really call AC/DC a _group of Harpies_, but at least they are quick to wake you up right on time!" The magical smurf grins. "It's ok...I'll turn it off since we are both up anyway."

"This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder." Hefty mutters grumpily, shaking his head as he crawls out of his bed.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sorcerer leads Hefty down the hallway and into the cafeteria kitchen. The magical smurf is wearing a pair of purple shorts and a matching t-shirt; Hefty had donned his newest regular white shorts with black sleeveless shirt. There in the kitchen the smurfs find the smurfettes preparing a huge breakfast for all the smurflings. Sorcerette, like Sorcerer, is wearing purplish-pink shorts and a t-shirt. In the other side of the kitchen Sassette is showing Toughette how to work the blender.

"Ok, so I add the fruit; strawberries, blueberries, a banana…" Toughette is confirming with a frown as she throws the ingredients into the blender. She glances at the other smurfettes. "Is that right?" The smurfettes nod briskly in the affirmative.

"Whatcha guys doing?" Hefty asks, looking at them in confusion.

Sorcerette looks over her shoulder and grins. "We are showing Toughette how to make a fruit smoothie," She says with a wink at the strong smurf, "They're good. After she's done, we can show you how, too."

Sassette is cheerfully instructing the tough smurfette. "Now add the yogurt, Toughette, and then you can hit the 'blend' button!"

"How much do I add?" Toughette asks a bit anxiously.

"Well, if you want one glass, just keep pouring till you reach the first line on the blender." Sorcerette suggests.

Toughette nods and does as she is told. "Alright," she cheers as soon as she reaches the level requested for her drink. "Now I push the 'blend' button!" With that she jabbed her finger onto the small white button.

Unexpectedly, fruit and yogurt mixture burst out of the whirring blender, the liquid spraying all over the kitchen counter, over the nearby smurfettes and even over Hefty and Sorcerer Smurf too.

"EEK!" The startled smurfettes squeal, throwing their hands up to shield their faces from getting splattered.

Sassette hastily reaches over to shut the blender off. When the blender stopped, she wipes the goo off her face and groans. "Uh, Toughette…you forgot to put the lid on before pushing the button." She says, shaking her head ruefully.

Toughette's head whips around and stares incredulously at her elder smurfette. "You wait until NOW to tell me this?" She snaps looking very much put out.

Hefty can not help it. "Wow, what a mess!" He snickers, and now Toughette turns around to glare at him. Hefty grins at her, grabs a cloth from the counter and starts wiping his black shirt and most of his blue face, pausing only to taste what was left of the mixture on his hand. "Mmm…not too bad, Toughette. At least that's a start!" He says cheerfully.

"Oh, you think you can do better…?" The golden haired smurfette growls warningly at her strong mate.

Before Hefty could retort, a buzzer sound goes off. Sassette looks up, suddenly alert.

"No time, the muffins are done…and I believe the smurflings will show up soon too, so hurry up and finish cleaning up that mess!" Sassette announces firmly. She turns to the young smurfs. "Okay, Hefty, Sorcerer Smurf, you two can serve the muffins!" She orders.

Not sooner she says this than the cafeteria is swamped with hungry smurflings rushing eagerly in to find their seats. Sorcerer Smurf hands Hefty a tray of warm muffins. As instructed, Hefty does as he is told by distributing the muffins among the smurflings. Something about the muffins looks familiar…they even smell familiar, too. For a moment the strong smurf puzzles this over until a long-ago memory filters into his brain, and then his face brightens up. Now he remembers what kind of muffins they are. They are made from the very same recipe Greedy Smurf used to bake for the smurfs from Old Village, so long time ago! Hefty smiles faintly and continues to make his rounds around the tables, passing the muffins out to the smurflings and hearing them saying a polite 'thank you' in return.

Finally he comes across a certain smurfling waiting patiently for his breakfast. It is Tech. Hefty pauses, wondering if the youngster is still upset over the toy Hefty had crushed under his foot yesterday. Hesitantly Hefty places the muffin on Tech's plate and smiles down at the youngster.

"There you go, buddy." Hefty says cheerfully.

Slowly Tech turns his head and sneers up at the strong smurf. "I'm not your _buddy_," he says coldly and turns away, acting as though Hefty isn't even there at all.

_Ok then_, Hefty sighs internally. "Of course, what was I thinking…?" He rolls his eyes up sarcastically at the smurfling and continue, heavy-hearted, his rounds of handing out the muffins to the rest of the clamoring smurflings.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Alright, then. Follow me please," Nat is saying as he guides a small group of six smurflings, properly dressed in outdoor outfits with either pants or shorts for this hiking trip. Following them along are Hefty, Toughette, Sorcerette, and Sorcerer Smurf. For the past half hour the older nature-loving smurf had led them up a path, teaching them to observe and identify different roots and plants along the way. As they continue down the path they come across a large heavy branch lying right across the trail. To the smurfs this branch looks massive…indeed, it could be considered equivalent to a fallen tree in human sense.

This means the smurfs will have to jump over the branch, seeing there is no other way around it. Nat climbed over it first. Next Hefty and Toughette jump over it with greater ease, which impressed quite a few of the smurflings. One by one, the smurflings climbs over the branch. First Tech Smurfling, next little Nursette, third a raven haired smurfling jumps over. Little Floraette in her mauve jumpsuit stands proudly before catching up to the others. The fourth member of the group is little Melody, who attempts to leap over, but didn't quite make it. Hefty catches her just in time. Melody recovers quickly; pushes back a few strains of her amber color hair and gave him a bashful grin. It becomes obvious that she is forming a crush on the strong smurf. Toughette had to giggle at the sight; it reminds her so much of the early days of the Old Smurfette Village. Sorcerette is next. In a graceful leap she jumps right over the branch and strikes a pose on the other side as though to say, 'ta-da!'. As the last two smurflings are climbing over the fallen branch one of them slips and ends up with his pants snagging onto the part of the jutting stem.

"Ow!" The smurfling cries out.

The other smurfling in baggy clothing snickers. "Hey Clumsy, there's a letter in your mailbox!" He shouts, and falls down in a gale of hysterical guffaws.

"Thanks Skater, I'm aware of that…ooh." Clumsy Smurfling says without a hint of rancour as he buckles over, moaning in pain.

"Hang on Clumsy, I'll get you down." Sorcerer offers kindly, reaching quickly over the branch to the stranded smurfling, grabs hold of him, and pulls him up. Hefty steps forward and helps the whimpering youngster down to the ground.

"Letter in your mailbox?" Hefty asked Sorcerer with a puzzled expression.

"He means that Clumsy got a bad wedgie." Sorcerer explains, trying not to laugh at poor Clumsy's misfortune.

Hefty scratches his head, looking even more confused. "What's a wedgie?" He asks.

"Well, you must have seen how little Clumsy here slipped and get his pants caught, didn't you?" Sorcerer pauses until Hefty responds with a nod of his head 'yes', and then continues. "Let's just say it's not the most comfortable feeling when this sort of thing happens." The magical smurf chuckles awkwardly.

"Yeah, it hurts…But I'll be alright." Little Clumsy smiles up at the adult smurfs.

Hefty could not help but smile back at the brave young smurfling. He is so much like his namesake, in fact, this little fella _is_ the reincarnation of the Clumsy he have known and loved back in the Old Smurf Village.

It only takes less then five minutes for Sorcerer, Hefty and the two last smurflings to catch up to the group in an open meadow. There they observe Nat showing the smurflings how to set up a temporary camp as a part of their survival training.

"Does anyone know what we must do first when we set up a campsite?" Nat asks the smurflings who are surrounding him. All of them look at him with blank expressions. A few of them exchanges glances to see anyone in the group knew the answer.

"No one…?" Nat looks puzzled, even slightly disappointed. "Perhaps Hefty and Toughette could help answer this question then." He peers hopefully at his un-aged older siblings from the Old Village.

Both strong smurfs exchanges bewildered looks for a moment until it dawns on them what Nat wants them to do. They smile with sudden understanding and start surveying the area around them. With a nod Hefty and Toughette walk up to the smurflings sitting in a half circle on the ground. Nat and the young magical smurfs also sit down on the side in order to allow the strong smurfs the chance to prove not only to the smurflings, but to themselves what they are capable of.

After taking a good look at his young, adoring audience (save for Tech, who still is showing no appreciation for the tattooed adult smurf), Hefty is the first to speak. He grins at the eagerly awaiting smurflings and says, "Well, first thing we do when arriving at a potential campsite is to look for a relatively high and level ground.

"Next it is important to take note of a water source nearby the camp. As we all know; water is an essential part of camping." Toughette adds.

"Thirdly," Hefty steps up, "Find a good spot for your campfire. Something you will most certainly need to cook your food and keep you warm at night."

Toughette nods approvingly before speaking again. "To start up your fire pit the first thing to located a spot, clear a circle of 2 to 5 feet from around the fire pit of excess pine needles and leaves and if possible, splash water on the ground around, but not in or on, the fire pit. Note that you should not use wet or damp rocks to line your fire pit as they can heat up and explode. Make sure the rocks are completely dry."

"Next you find yourself decent firewood," Hefty instructs as he and Toughette are now demonstrating how to start a campfire. He starts by guiding the smurflings along the edge of the forest to pick up twigs. "The best types of wood are old dried wood from conifers, or otherwise known as, evergreens. Dry cones are great too. Wood from pine, cedar, and spruce will start a fire quickly but will also burn swiftly. Woods such as oak, ash and maple will burn longer but are more difficult to ignite, as they are hardwood. Aspen, birch and poplar are quite common and they make good fires as they burn hot but fairly fast."

The smurflings appear to have fun with Hefty and Toughette as they collect wood. Tech, on the other hand, is still keeping his distance from Hefty and does what he can to ignore him if the young adult so much as say something to him, or even just to look at him. Nat had to laugh when he overheard Hefty commenting to Toughette that they should rename Tech 'Grouchy Smurfling'. Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf both raise their eyebrows in wonder at that comment.

Nat and the magical smurfs continue to watch attentively as their timeless mentors teach the smurflings about the safety of how to build up and start a campfire. First they lay down a proper foundation of tinder, such as shavings from dried twigs and pine needles. Above the fine tinder bed, they crisscrossed a few larger dry twigs about the size of smurf-size pencils.

"Ok, now we will show you how to start up a proper fire." Hefty triumphantly declares.

"Duh, we already know how to start up a fire. It's called a lighter." Tech Smurfling scoffs. With that said, he takes out a pocket lighter and with a click or two he lit it up. A tiny flame appears as if by magic at the end of the small metal rectangle, dancing in the breeze.

Toughette's and Hefty's jaws drop in amazement. Judging from their expressions on their face, they seem to be thinking at the same time; _Is there anything this new world can't do?_

Nat frowns at Tech's rude behavior. "Uh, Tech, we are here to learn how to start a campfire without the use of our modern technology," the older smurf chides, taking the young smurfling's lighter away. "And besides, you are not supposed to be playing with these things!"

"Yeah, kid, leave your magical toys at home." Hefty says gruffly.

Tech glares angrily up at Hefty, turns away from him and sits down in a pouting posture with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Anyway…" Toughette leans in to give Hefty a look that said 'focus on our lesson, not on this smurfling's issue'. She then holds up a couple of pieces of wood, one flat and the other semi long and pointy. "To make a decent campfire you need a flat board made from a soft wood like Pine or Bass Wood. This longer piece with the point is called your Drill. It's best to use a harder wood like Maple or Oak. Then you got your springy wood of either Ash, or Hickory to name a few, a leather or Rawhide lace and a smooth dimpled rock or piece of hard wood is used for your Bow."

Hefty takes over in the lecture. "To start a fire, place your tinder partially under the V-notch in your Fireboard, like Toughette is now demonstrating for us." He says while Toughette begins starting up the fire. "Wrap the lace around the drill one turn. Place the sharp end of the drill in the hand block and the dull end into the fire block. See how Toughette does it? Begin to work the bow back and forth, like a sawing motion."

Toughette was "drilling", her hand moving forth and back quickly. Hefty continues: "Slowly increase your speed while keeping a steady rhythm. Watch for smoke coming from the fire block and continue until the smoke is constant and not just an occasional puff. Quickly set the bow and drill aside and dump the hot "sawdust" from the block onto the tinder. Gently blow, just like Toughette is doing." Hefty looks over his young audience to see if they are still following him so far and indeed they have. Satisfied, Hefty continues his lecture; "It may take several tries to get the "sawdust" hot enough to "light up" the tinder. But as you can see, Toughette is somewhat a pro at this and already a fire has started."

The smurflings oohed and aahed with awe at how these new strong smurfs successfully get their campfire burning without even needing any of modern technology.

"Now that we got a decent fire going, what do you say we eat lunch now!" Sorcerer Smurf exclaims happily, rubbing his hands in anticipation. The smurflings all cheer loudly at the idea.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

As they eat their lunch around the beautiful campfire, the smurflings listen avidly as Nat, Hefty and Toughette tell stories of what they remember of the Old Smurf Village and the Old Smurfette Village. It wasn't a surprise that each of the smurflings would interrupt every so often to ask questions about the events being described to them.

After a while the conversation gradually starts to die down, until there was a silence as the smurfs, lost in their own thoughts, finish their lunch. Finally Toughette swallows her last bite from her sandwich and looks up at everysmurf.

"So, what new things do you smurfs do after you built a campfire?" She asks curiously.

"Well, much like we use to from the old days, we would sing songs." Nat explains.

Little Nursette perks up. "What kind of songs did you sing?" She chirps intriguingly, looking at the adult smurfs.

At this question Hefty, Toughette and Nat looked at each other. Even the magical smurfs looks interested at the thought as well.

"Well," Hefty starts, "In the Old Smurf Village, the smurfs didn't know many songs…just the La-La song, and a few Christmas songs."

"In the Old Smurfette Village there was one smurfette in particular that would sing many songs. She had the most beautiful voice too." Toughette sighs, reminiscing.

Nat smiles and turns around to address the young smurfling with the amber hair. "Little Melody here has a pretty voice; perhaps she would do us the honor of singing a song for us right now?" He suggests with a wink.

At this offer the little smurfette instantly blushes a shade of pinkish-purple and begins shying away from him.

"I-I'm not that good." She said almost in a whisper.

Hefty smiles and leans forward to look at the little smurfette in the eyes. With a friendly smile he says, "You know, I would really love to hear you sing, Melody."

Melody looks at him and smiles back with a twinkle in her eye that reminded the strong smurf of a certain smurfette with the golden voice back from the Old Smurfette Village.

"I would love to hear you sing too, Melody." Toughette chimes in eagerly.

"Yeah, Melody, sing!" Little Nursette claps enthusiastically.

All the other smurflings join in to cheer their bashful sister on.

"Yeah!"

"Come on Melody!"

"Sing us a song!"

"Your singing is slammin!"

Again little Melody blushes, pleased, and a little overwhelmed at all the support she is getting from her peers and the adult smurfs as well. "Ok, fine…I do know one song I can sing…" she admits shyly.

Again the smurfs cheer and clap with enthusiasm as she prepares her little voice to sing. As soon as they see that Melody is ready to start, they become very quiet and lean forward to listen:

_All my life's a circle, sunrise and sundown.  
The moon rolls through the night-time.  
Till the daybreak comes around.  
All my life's a circle,  
But I can't tell you why  
Seasons spinning 'round again,  
The years keep rolling by._

It seems like I've been here before,  
I can't remember when. And I've got this funny feeling that we'll all be together again.

There's no straight lines that make up my life. And all the roads have bends. There's no clear cut beginnings and so far no dead ends.  


_I've found you a thousand times,  
And I guess you've done the same.  
But then we lose each other,  
It's like a children's game._

As I find you here again,  
The thought runs through my mind  
Our love is like a circle,  
Let's go 'round one more time.

After Melody finishes the song with a beautiful perfect note at the end, the other smurfs and smurflings break out cheering wildly. "Awesome!" They shout. With a bashful smile, little Melody takes a bow.

Not long after everyone has finished their lunch, the adult smurfs show the smurflings how to properly put a campfire out and clean it up afterwards. That way, the youngsters, having built their own small campfires, are taught how to make sure the fire is completely out, leaving no hissing sounds that would indicate smoldering embers hidden beneath the ashes.

And they do a very job doing just like that – except for Tech. He had been told to give the fire a good, hard look to make sure there is no more sparks, but he doesn't do the job exactly how Hefty and Toughette were showing the others. Hefty noticed Tech's still smoldering embers in the fire pit and shakes his head exasperatedly at the youngster's carelessness.

"Ah, Tech, when it comes to campfires there are no such thing as 'short-cuts'," Hefty lectured, "You need to make sure it's out completely!"

"What's the diff? We are living in a country that rains every other day," Tech replies snobbishly with an indifferent shrug.

Hefty put his fists on his hips and looks at him with annoyance. "That's not a good enough reason! What if it doesn't rain? You could be responsible in starting a forest fire!" _Forest fire…_ He winces inwardly, and an old memory from a long time ago rises into his mind. That was when the younger and careless Snappy accidentally started a forest fire which nearly destroyed the Smurf Village many years ago. Hefty grimaces; he could still remember how terrified the Smurfs were over the near loss of their houses, and possibly their lives, too. Hefty opens his mouth to give Tech yet another stern lecture. But, looking into Tech's eyes, Hefty can tell there is something else on the little smurfling's mind. Perhaps it is not time to scold the youngster just now.

"Man, what makes you think you know everything?" The fuming little smurfling shoots back rather impudently.

"Well, uh…" Hefty tries to explain. But for once he is unable to find the right words, so he closes his mouth and could not continue any further.

"Oh forget it…just leave me alone!" With that said, Tech turns and runs off into the woods.

"Tech, wait!" Hefty calls out frantically after him. He quickly glances over his shoulder at the other smurfs, many of them looking very concerned, even alarmed.

"I'm going after him," the strong smurf announces, trying to assure them. He then takes off, running after Tech.

Nat and Sorcerer Smurf are about to start running after them as well, but Toughette grabs both of them and pulls them back just in time.

"Wait," She says, "I may not know much of this new world, but I know Hefty. You two know as much as I do that he and Tech's past life have history. Let's give them a chance to work this out by themselves."

Reluctantly, the two smurfs nod in agreement. Together they watch Hefty disappears around the bush in a direction where Tech went just moments before.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Tech, wait up!" The strong smurf shouts again, trying to overtake the fleeing smurfling.

The youngster glances back but keeps on running. He has no idea where he wants to go, but as long as it takes him far away from that stupid smurf chasing him and out of his reach, it's all that matters.

However, thanks to his speed and endurance, Hefty quickly gains on Tech until he is able to catch up with the youngster. Unfortunately, as Hefty is about to grab hold of the little smurfling's shirt, Tech trips on a rock. With a loud cry, the smurfling tumbles head over heels down in a nearby steep ravine.

"No!" Hefty cries in horror. Without hesitation he leaps into the ravine, following Tech down the rough side taking care to watch each step so he doesn't start tumbling, too.

Helplessly, Tech slides off a sloping overhang and, after a short fall, lands hard on top of his right ankle and collapses on the ground.

"Ow!" He cries out in pain, clutching at his throbbing ankle.

"Tech!" Hefty screams, having reached the bottom of the cliff. With a mighty leap he sails across the air and lands right in front of Tech.

Startled, Tech looks up at him wide-eyed. He has never seen anyone jump from that height and land so perfectly like Hefty just did. Needless to say, he is quite impressed.

"Tech," Hefty calls to him once more, kneeling before him and looking at him anxiously, "Are you ok? Say something!"

"Ouch." The little smurfling squeaks in a tiny voice.

"I'll take that as a 'yeah, I'm fine' then." The strong smurf mumbles, mostly to himself. Then, seeing how the little guy is holding his leg tenderly with a look of agony on his youthful face, Hefty says in a more clear voice, "You don't suppose you'd let me have a look at your ankle, would you?"

Still impressed with the smurf's mighty leap, Tech slowly loosens his grip on his leg and allows Hefty to lean over and inspect it. First the tough but surprisingly gentle smurf carefully takes the little smurfling's shoe off, pausing briefly at every slight whimper Tech makes. Eventually, the shoe comes off and Hefty notices right away a swelling around the ankle.

"Well, the good news is, it doesn't look broken. It appears you have a bad sprain." Hefty declares, slightly relieved.

"How would you know anything about sprain or broken ankles?" Tech snaps, just remembering he is still upset with the brawny smurf.

"Oh, trust me; I know a bit about broken limbs," Hefty winks at the smurfling, "I myself had broken my leg once, and believe me it hurt, a lot!"

"Really…?" Tech couldn't help but smile a little.

"Yeah," Hefty nods and smiles back at him. He pauses to think for a moment then looks at him. "Look, I'm really sorry for stepping on your toy last night," He says sincerely, "If I had known what it was, I swear I wouldn't have smurfed it like I did."

Tech looks at him and for a moment he seems unable to make up his mind how he feels about Hefty. Finally, however, he relents. "That's ok," the smurfling says with a sigh. He shrugs and adds, "I've been planning on building a bigger and faster version anyway."

Hefty brightens up at Tech's remark. "If I promise not to step on it, would you let me see it?" He asked hopefully.

Tech gives him a suspicious look. "I don't know…you probably won't understand the technology that goes into it."

"Probably not, but if you'd teach me maybe I might understand…someday!" The strong smurf gives a sheepish grin that makes the little smurfling smile back at him once again.

But then, Tech suddenly frowns and looks away.

Worried, Hefty leans toward the smurfling and places his mighty hand gently on his tiny shoulder. "What's wrong?" He inquires.

Tech shrugs off Hefty's hand. "Nothing," The youngster mumbles in a small whimper.

Hefty hesitated, then picks the little smurfling up and settles down on the ground before putting him gently on his lap.

"Look, I know we got off at the wrong foot," Hefty says quietly and kindly, "But you've got to talk to me if I'm here to help raise you smurflings!"

"But that's just it…" Tech appears to be struggling inwardly for a moment and finally blurts out, "How do I know you will stick around and not leave us?"

Taken aback, Hefty glances down at him with a puzzled expression. "Where did that come from?" He asks, confused.

"I don't know, ok." The little smurfling pouts. "It's weird. I just have this feeling you might leave, or at least I think I dreamt you did once. But again, I only met you yesterday, so how would I know that?"

Baffled, Hefty just looks at the little guy. Then it hit him, and Hefty realizes that Tech is probably remembering a past life experience when he was Handy Smurf. It might have been around the time when the Smurf Dam burst and took him away from the Smurf Village.

"Tech, listen, I promise I will not leave you and the other smurflings!" He assures him, wrapping his around the smurfling in a reassuring hug, "I'm staying here for as long as you all need me, ok?"

"You promise?" Tech asks, looking at him searchingly to make sure Hefty is not just saying that.

"I promise," Hefty replies with a firm nod.

Hearing this, Tech is satisfied. He throws his small arms around Hefty and hugs him back. Hefty is a little surprised but vastly relieved; he knows then that Tech has forgiven him, and that they will be good friends from now on.

After a few moments Hefty pulls back and looks at the smurfling. "Ok, why don't we get you out of this ravine and return to the Smurf Community to have your ankle taken care of?" He suggests.

"Alright." Tech nods in agreement.

Smiling, Hefty gets up with Tech in his arms and carries him all the way back to join the other smurfs waiting patiently for them.


	18. How Some Evolve and Some Stay the Same

**Chapter ****18: How Some Evolve and Some Stay the Same**

Scratching his white beard absently, Brainy Smurf thinks for a moment and then plunks away at the keyboard of his computer for a few more minutes. He is getting close to finishing up some of his memoirs of his earlier adventures he and his small group had before they arrives in Canada. It is a hobby he likes to do from time to time. Looking at a bundle of pages he had written so far, he smiles faintly to himself. In some way it reminds him a little of the time when he was in the Old Smurf village, when he had written his Quotations of Brainy Smurf books for his fellow smurfs to read. Sadly, none of the smurfs had wanted to read his books, save for Clumsy Smurf.

Ah, Clumsy Smurf. Brainy leaned back, feeling a sudden pang of melancholy. It's been centuries ago, and yet the memory of Clumsy's untimely death is still fresh and painful as though it were yesterday. The aging bespectacled smurf sighs and stares off into nothing in particular. If anything, he still misses the old Clumsy from so long time ago. The bumbling but cheerful smurf wearing oversized cap that was always slipping down his forehead…he was noteworthy in the old Smurf Village for his kindness, an unflagging optimism and a willing to please everyone. And now he was gone. And yet…

The sound of someone knocking on the door startles Brainy out of his reverie. Pivoting his chair, he turns away from the computer screen and faces the door. "Come in," he calls out.

"It's just me, Brainy." The voice responds from behind the door. It opens to reveal Hefty. Smiling sheepishly, the tough smurf slinks into the room and stands before his now-older brother.

"Afternoon, Hefty," Brainy adjusts his glasses, looks at his brother again and muses, "Hey, heard about your little adventure with the smurflings today."

Hefty looks a little flustered and shrugs. "Yeah, I guess smurflings will be smurflings." The tough smurf looks down and scratches his head nervously, the recent incident with Tech Smurfling still fresh on his mind.

The elder brother chuckles. "I guess they will be that." Then he notices the expression on Hefty's face and raises his eyebrow in suspicion. "Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Hefty pauses. There is indeed something he wants to ask Brainy about, but he is having trouble trying to find the right words to express his thought. He just doesn't want to sound like a total idiot. After a moment's hesitation he sucks in a deep breath before looking up at Brainy.

"How do you do it, Brainy?" Hefty finally blurts out.

"Huh?" Brainy takes a closer look at Hefty and for the first time the red-capped elder is able to see the fear and confusion in his young strong brother's face. Back in the Old Village all the smurfs had looked up to Hefty for strength and leadership. Now that very same smurf is feeling as helpless as a young smurfling lost and alone in the forest in front of his bespectacled brother. Brainy is bewildered. Shaking his head, he replies, "I don't think I understand."

"This…" Hefty cries out, waving his hands in midair. "This world… the Smurflings… you… it's all so new, so different! How do you handle it?"

Brainy leans back in his chair and places a finger under his chin in a thoughtful pose. Carefully he ponders over his younger brother's words.

"I'm not sure to be honest," The aging smurf finally answers. "I guess what I am saying is to not always dwell in the past, but to look forward. Besides, if you really look at it, things have not changed that much."

Hefty blinks. "Ah, but what about all of this…?" He persists, pointing at the computer and other utilities in the kitchen.

"Oh yes, technology has changed a great deal, for sure," Brainy nods, "There are many things nowadays that would have the original Handy Smurf drowning in his own drool with envy!" Brainy chuckles slightly at his little joke. "But seriously, speaking of the smurflings…Each of them has some of their original personalities, which I have explained before."

"Maybe…but their behavior…" Hefty sighs ruefully.

"I know," Brainy nods his head again in agreement as if he knows exactly what his brother is talking about. "I often wonder what Papa Smurf would say seeing how the new generation of smurflings are behaving. The only suggestion I can give is to have patience." Again, the elderly Smurf lets out a chuckle. "Which I'm sure sounds rather funny coming from me!"

Hefty tilts his head, reacting to his brother's quip with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

A sudden, light sound of someone knocking on the door distracts Brainy for the second time. "Come in," he calls out.

The door opens a few inches and a tiny blue face pokes in. "Elder, I found your favorite cup in the reading room. I thought you might need it," the young smurfling with an oversized cap slipping down his forehead says in a shy voice.

Brainy looks at him and his face softens. The adult Clumsy from Old Smurf Village may be gone, but his younger, reincarnated self is, thank the stars, still around with Brainy and his large family. "Thank you, Clumsy. That is very thoughtful of you," The elderly smurf nods and gestures towards the kitchen with his hand, "Just put it on the kitchen counter for me, ok?"

"Alright!" The little smurfling chirps happily. As he emerges into the living room, however, he scarcely takes two steps before he trips over his own shoe laces. He lands with a hard thud, and the cup flies out of his tiny hands and shatters into hundreds of broken ceramic pieces on the floor.

"Gosh, I'm sorry, Elder Brainy!" The little smurfling gasps with sheer terror in his voice.

"That's ok, Clumsy," Brainy starts to rise from his seat. He freezes for a second when he notices the young smurfling frantically go around picking up the sharp broken pieces. "It's all right, Clumsy, just leave them there," He says in a firm but gentle tone. The last thing he needs is to have another smurfling in the clinic being treated for injuries today.

"But Elder…" The little smurf look up with big saucer eyes.

"I said it's ok. I'll get one of the adult Smurfs to clean it up."

"Alright." Reluctantly, the little smurfling drops the broken glass pieces on the floor and gets up, shaking his clothes to get any extra bits of glass off him. Almost involuntarily Brainy looks down at the smurfling's shoes and can see shoelaces dangling loosely from under his baggy pant legs. The Elder sighs and shakes his head with a slight aggravation.

"Clumsy, Clumsy, Clumsy," Brainy speaks in his lecturing tone, "How many times have I told you to go change your shoes from shoelaces to Velcro?"

"Um…ten?" The little smurfling glances bashfully up at him.

"Well, why haven't you changed them yet?"

"Because Fashionette and Designer Smurfling didn't have any in my size." Little Clumsy innocently replies.

Brainy frowns slightly. "Shouldn't they have made a pair for you by now?"

Clumsy lowers his head. "I don't know."

Brainy leans against his cane and sighs again. "Well, you better go figure that out with them….right now." He says, pointing his cane towards the door.

"Ok." The little smurfling turns around and takes a step towards the door. But just then Brainy glances once more at the youngster's shoelaces flapping loosely around the ankles and realizes Clumsy would likely to trip over again if he doesn't do something about it.

"Clumsy wait," Brainy calls out suddenly to him. Little Clumsy stops in his tracks and looks curiously over his shoulder to see what his Elder has to say. Brainy beckons for the smurfling to come to him. "Come here for a moment."

"What is it, Elder?" The Smurfling asks, walking back to the red-capped Smurf.

"Let me tie these up for you, child," Brainy offers. So saying, he carefully bends down on one knee on the floor. Moving into this position this way causes a great deal of discomfort in his lower back. With a groan, Brainy mutters, half to himself, "I'm getting to old to be doing this!"

Hefty, who had been observing silently the entire interaction between Brainy and young Clumsy, can not help but smile as he watches the aging Smurf ties the little smurfling's shoes. It had struck him just how Brainy is behaving so much like "Papa Smurf", the way he is tending so patiently and so gently to little Clumsy. Ever since Hefty reunited with Brainy and his group after centuries of deep "sleep", the tough Smurf had been wondering how much his intelligent, bespectacled brother has changed since the good old days in Smurf Village. Now Hefty can see for himself that Brainy had indeed changed. To his surprise, Hefty finds himself almost envying the way Brainy is so mature, tender and considerate to the next generation of smurfs.

"Gee, thanks Elder!" The little smurfling cheers happily as soon as Brainy finished tying the second shoe.

"Now go see if Fashionette and Designer Smurfling have made your new pair of shoes yet," Brainy says, pulling himself back up with the help of his cane.

"Yes, Elder." The little smurfling spins around and trots off to the door. As he opens the door and is about to take off into the hallway, Brainy calls out, "And no running in the halls!"

"Oops. Sorry, Elder." This time little Clumsy starts walking more carefully as he slowly closes the door behind him.

Brainy watches the door for a couple of minutes, lost in deep thoughts. His whiskers twitches. Clumsy still hasn't lost his natural tendencies…in fact; he really hadn't changed at all that much. Despite his tender age, Clumsy is still Clumsy, and it warms Brainy's heart to know that even after all the long centuries, Clumsy was not lost forever.

Sighing, the aging smurf turns and immediately notices Hefty smiling at him with a knowing twinkle in his eye. Brainy frowns slightly. "I know what you are thinking, and you better not say it!" He shakes his cane at the young adult smurf.

"Aw, but that was way too priceless," Hefty teases.

"Uh-huh." Brainy mutters gruffly as he hobbles towards a nearby closet. "What can I say; Clumsy will always be Clumsy no matter what." He opens the door, pulls a broom and a dust pan out and hands them to Hefty.

"What's this for?" Hefty demands, holding his hands up in protest.

"It's to clean up the mess in the kitchen, if you don't mind!" Brainy says in a no-nonsense voice, "I'd clean it myself, but my back is starting to ach." He pushes the broom and dust pan almost into Hefty's face so the strong smurf has no choice but to take them. He gives his older brother an annoyed glare.

"I suppose you would like me to wash the windows too, huh?" Hefty growls.

"Ah, that would be nice. Thanks," Brainy answers in a sarcastic voice. He hobbles back to his chair in the front the computer and begins to jab away at the keyboard once more.

Hefty shakes his head in exasperation and looks down at the broom in his hands. But then he begins to smile. "At least some things haven't changed too much." With a shrug, Hefty begins to sweep the floor.


	19. The City Sights

**Chapter 1****9: The City Sights**

The next morning, after breakfast, the smurfs manage to get the noisy, restless smurflings dressed and fed. As Snappy, Sassette, Nat, and Slouchy expertly shepherd the chattering smurflings outside for their morning playtime, Brainy, Brainette, Sorcerer, and Sorcerette start the task of preparing Hefty and Toughette for their tour into the city. Right now, Hefty is in a dressing room holding up one shiny boot and looking rather doubtfully at it. Sighing, he proceeds to pull it over his large foot. It was a somewhat tight fit but not uncomfortably so.

"Are you sure putting on this crazy monkey suit is necessary?" Hefty complains loudly, struggling mightily to push his foot into the footgear.

Brainy's voice can be heard speaking through the closed door in the dressing room. "Trust me, Hefty. You will be safer wearing that outfit!" The elderly smurf answers in a serious, nonsense voice.

Once he is done dressing up, Hefty opens the door and steps out to present himself in his new outfit. Brainy steps back to appraise him gravely. From head to toe Hefty is clad in a black fake leather pants, jacket, and boots. Instead of a regular white smurf hat, he is holding a black smurf-sized helmet with one hand. "Remind me again, why you aren't coming on this trip?" The brawny smurf wonders. Brainy looks over his brother and smiles approvingly.

"Because I've already had my share of adventures in the big city, and now it's your turn. Besides, you fit in that outfit better then I can." Brainy chuckled over his own humor.

"What's so funny?" Hefty growls. It always annoys him whenever his intelligent brother tries to sound clever. Just then Sorcerer steps out of the second changing room. He takes one look at Hefty and breaks out in a huge grin.

"Hey, you look cool in that biker outfit, Hefty!" Sorcerer declares happily. He is also wearing the same black biker outfit himself. "You looking forward to this trip, eh?"

The muscular smurf glances at the younger smurf and shrugs. "Er, sure."

"Awesome! Lay me some skin brother!" Sorcerer crows, holding his hand up in the air.

"Excuse me?" Hefty raises his eyebrows and looks at Sorcerer with a dumbfounded look.

Brainy sighs. "Just put your hand out like this, Hefty." He instructs, demonstrating a gesture by holding out his hand, palm up. With some hesitation Hefty mimics Brainy's hand position.

"Alright!" Sorcerer shouts and slapped his hand down hard onto Hefty's.

"I don't believe it. He hit me!" Hefty cries out, completely shocked beyond belief that not only another smurf had purposely hit him, but Brainy just stand there and allows it to happen!

"Relax, Hefty. This is just a new way of showing one's excitement." The red-capped elder explains patiently. "Come on, let's get going. We need to meet up with the Smurfettes up at the garage."

"Alright! Let the tour begin. OW!" Sorcerer Smurf crows, dancing around in a cocky way.

Hefty cringes and turns around towards the young smurf. "What is wrong with you? Are you in pain?" He asks anxiously.

"Oh so naive… Don't worry, Hefty!" Sorcerer winks confidently and throws his arm over the strong smurf's shoulder. "I'll mold you into a modern smurf, yet!"

Brainy stops abruptly and spins around to face the younger smurfs. Scowling, he raises his cane and shakes it at Sorcerer.

"No! There will be no _molding_ of any kind. You will show Hefty and Toughette the town and all that they need to know in how to avoid the dangers! And that _is_ it!" He scolds sternly.

"Ok, fine…" The young magical smurf holds up his hands as though to ward off Brainy's anger. He glances at Hefty with a sheepish grin. Hefty shakes his head and rolls his eyes skyward. A little subdued now, they quietly follow the grumbling red-capped smurf down the hallway.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Soon the smurfs arrive at the garage where the smurfettes are preparing two smurf-sizes motorcycles for transportation. Toughette is standing off to one side, watching idly while Sorcerette and Brainette fuss around the motorcycles, checking the engines and so forth.

Hefty stops abruptly; the first thing he notices about his girlfriend is that she too wears dark, close-fitting biker outfit - black imitation leather coat, pants, boots and all. She is also holding a black smurf hat-shaped helmet against her hip under her arm. Her appearance is so breathtaking that Hefty can't help it but lets out a little whistle in sheer admiration, and it catches Toughette's attention.

Noticing Toughette looking straight at him, Hefty moves closer to her. "You know," He begins, "I just can't get over some of the outfits smurfs wear in this strange new world," Then he grins widely and continues in an obviously flirtatious manner, "and how smurfy you seem to look in them!"

Toughette shakes her head and smirks. "You're hopeless, you know that, right?" She teases.

"Ok, the bikes are ready to Rock and Roll, smurfs!" Sorcerette announces cheerfully, putting on her own helmet.

"Awesome!" Sorcerer Smurf hoots. He too places his matching helmet eagerly on his head.

Hefty and Toughette watch in a perplexed manner as the young smurfs hop on these strange metal objects on two wheels. This is yet something new that they would most likely have to get use to. Confused, Hefty turns to his elder brother. "Brainy, what are these things?"

"They are called motorcycles." Brainy answers, shaking his head in exasperation. "They are noisy instruments of transportation. I don't even know why I agreed to let Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf take you on these things."

"Would you relax, Elder…?" Sorcerer groans, rolling his eyes skyward. He gets off his bike and walks over to Hefty with a smirk across his face. "Ok Hefty, time to put on that helmet."

"The what…?" The brawny smurf looks at him in confusion.

Sorcerer reaches over and takes the black smurf-sized helmet out from Hefty's hand. "This thing, remember?"

"Oh," Hefty lowers his head, looking slightly embarrassed.

As Sorcerer helps Hefty adjust his helmet on his head, Sorcerette likewise assists Toughette with hers.

"Looking good, Toughette…" Sorcerette chirps supportively, sticking her thumb up.

"Yeah, sure…what ever you say…" Toughette grumbles, patting her new headgear skeptically.

"Ok, let's get going then." The magical smurfette chimes as she hops back on her bike. "Come on Toughette, you sit here," she adds, patting on the empty seat behind her.

The tough smurfette hesitates for a moment, then walks bravely over to her and straddles the seat behind Sorcerette.

"You too Hefty, come on." Sorcerer Smurf also takes his place on his motorcycle and beckons the strong smurf to join him.

"Be sure and hang on real tight, Hefty." Sorcerer instructs. Hefty does what he is told and wraps his arms all the way around the young smurf's chest tightly, not realizing that because of his strength, he is putting a lot of pressure on the young magical smurf. Sorcerer Smurf chokes when Hefty nearly crushed his ribs. "Arg! Too tight, Hefty! …Can't breathe…!!" He cries betweens gasps.

Hefty flinches. "Sorry!" He apologizes and quickly loosens his grip.

Recovering quickly, Sorcerer let out a wry chuckle. "That's ok…for a second I forgot I am a big fan of breathing." He jokes good-naturedly.

Brainy clears his throat loudly to get their attention. "Now, I don't want you two going too fast!" The elderly smurf warns, glaring meaningfully at Sorcerer and Sorcerette.

"Relax gramps! It's all taken care of." Sorcerer Smurf says with a sigh as he flicks the visor of his helmet down over his face.

"Are you two ready?" Sorcerette asks both Hefty and Toughette.

"No!" Toughette responds in a panicky tone.

"Good. Let's go then!" Sorcerette says with a grin as she too pulls her visor down over her face. Both she and Sorcerer Smurf rev up their engines, making loud noises that filled the entire room and drowns out any other things Brainy might have said. Then, accelerating their motorcycles forward at top speed, they race down the corridor and out of the compound before Hefty and Toughette scarcely know what is happening.

"HEY! Slow down…!" Brainy cries out after them, but by that time, they had already gone out of sight and out of earshot. The old smurf let out a loud growl in frustration. "What is wrong with young smurfs these days…" he shakes his head exasperatedly. Just then a tender blue hand reaches out and touches his shoulder. Surprised, Brainy looks around and notices Brainette gazing at him with soft, loving eyes.

"Don't worry. They'll be alright." She assures him with a smile. Brainette then put her arms around him in an embrace and kisses his cheek. "Come. Let me make you some tea."

Mulling over what she had said, Brainy smiles softly at her and nods in acknowledgement. "Yes. Some tea does sound smurfingly."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

For an hour the four young smurfs travel many miles down the mountain until they come within sight of a city where humans live. As they enters the suburbs, Hefty's and Toughette's jaws drop open and their eyes nearly pop out at the sight of towering buildings and other strange sights they have never seen before. Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf, much amused at their reaction, carefully guide Hefty and Toughette to some of best and safest spots, especially the beautiful parks, where the smurfs can go to enjoy without worrying about being discovered by the humans. At one moment they even stop to enjoy watching (at a safe distance) a few human children playing some games at the jungle gym. During the next hour and a half the young, modern smurfs takes their hero idols from the medieval times through other parts of the city including over the bridges towards the city center. Soon the smurfs find themselves riding through another park, but this one reminds Hefty and Toughette of the home where they used to live so long ago. At this moment, overcome with unspoken emotion, Hefty and Toughette suggest that they stop and sit on the rocky beach to take a breather.

As golden blond smurfette perch on a large rock in deep thought, she is startled to notice a group of humans jogging right by them. And they don't even notice the smurfs sitting so close to the path. It was then Toughette realizes something she hadn't noticed before. With a puzzled expression on her face, she turns to the magical youngsters.

"Look, I'm not complaining or anything," Toughette begins, "But I've just realized that ever since we entered the city, we've been passing humans, some of them up close, and they didn't even act like we were there!" She asks, shrugging her shoulders in a gesture of confusion. "How is that possible?"

Sorcerette looks at her with a smile. "You know these outfits we are wearing?"

"Yeah…" Hefty and Toughette both reply in union.

"Well," Sorcerer sits straight up and begin speaking to them, "These outfits and our bikes are specially designed with a little magic to help cloak us from being spotted by most humans."

"Most humans…?" Toughette raises her eyebrow in suspicion.

Sorcerette's head bob up and down a few times quickly. "Oh, yeah, there are a few humans we have as friends living here in the city," she answers, "Again with a little help of some magic stones we gave them our cloaking spells are instantly cancelled for them." Sorcerette finishes with a gleeful chuckle.

Hefty isn't sure he understood, but Toughette nods as though she does. "I see…" the tough smurfette turns towards her boyfriend with a knowing smirk.

"Say, it's getting to be lunch time… Are you two hungry?" Sorcerer asks, standing up.

Now Hefty smiles and pats his tummy, which is indeed growling a little. "Hey, yeah!"

Toughette jerks her thumb towards the cycles. "So where in these…_motorcycles_…did you pack our lunches?" She wonders out loud.

"Are you kidding?" Sorcerette gets on to her feet and states proudly, "We are in the 21st century! There are hundreds of cities like this one that have thousands of places to get different styles of food from all walks of life!"

"Come on, then!" Sorcerer cheers as he heads towards the bikes, "We'll take you to one of our favorite places. You'll love it there!"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

A back door of a Japanese restaurant swings slowly open as if by magic, and Sorcerer and Sorcerette walk right in, boldly and confidently while the more cautious Hefty and Toughette creeps in behind them. The tough, older smurfs look around in astonishment; the room is bustling with a few young cooks running around preparing misu soups and green teas. Their blue noses twitch as they catch an odd smell, which has a hint of fishiness to it. Now and then an order would come through the Japanese drape that covered the entrance to the dinning area for teriyaki chicken or udon soup. As the smurfs crane their heads curiously, they catch a quick glance at what is behind the kitchen and notice more chiefs preparing something that is rolled up with rice and seaweed. Hefty and Toughette turn to each other with a baffled expression on their faces. _Is this where Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf have in mind on where they are going to eat lunch? _They seem to be wondering.

Sorcerer's voice interrupts their thoughts. "Tadami is the head chief here. He was in a bit of a financial jam some time ago," The young smurf was saying, "Sorcerette and I decided to help him by getting Brainette to work the numbers out with his taxes. Not only that, but we also helped clean up his restaurant to make it more presentable for his customers. Since then he would treat all us smurfs as his honored guests as long as he lives!" Sorcerer finishes with his explanation and beams proudly at the still bewildered older smurfs.

Sorcerette taps Toughette and Hefty Smurf's shoulders and points up to the nearby wall. There hangs a blue stone carved in what appears to be shaped as a dragon which seems to blend in with the decor.

"See that?" Sorcerette says, "This is one of the stones we were talking about. The others are in different shapes, though." Still not quite enlightened, Hefty and Toughette simply nod their heads as though understanding what Sorcerette is telling them.

One of the chefs – an older man with greying, well-combed hair - enters the kitchen from the dining area and immediately barks commands to the other chefs in Japanese. He takes two steps forward before he notices the smurfs standing in the back entrance of the kitchen. His eyes widen and he stops abruptly. With a wide smile, he recognizes his little blue guests and bows toward them.

Sumafu, **gashi**!" The Japanese chef chimes happily.

"Huh?" Hefty questions, scratching the back of his head. Of all the restaurants the smurfs pass, they end up in a place where the owners doesn't speak a language they understand!

Sorcerette explains. "_Sumafu_, it's a Japanese word for 'Smurfs.' Neat, huh?"

"Yeah, uh…neat," Toughette chuckles nervously, studying the owner carefully and noting the different appearance of the human. He certainly does not look like anyone she was accustomed to seeing in the past!

Sorcerer steps forth and returns the bow in a dignified manner. "Tadami, **gashi**." Sorcerer Smurf replies politely with a smile. "How is business today?"

The sushi chef beams with pride. "Oh, we are doing good…many, many customer today!" He notices Hefty and Toughette and his face brightens, instantly assuming correctly who they may be. "Ah, these must be the sleeping smurfs you have told me so much about! **Uerukamu,** noble guests!" He greets the older smurfs with another deep bow.

Taken aback, Hefty blinks a bit. "Um…hi…" he says shyly, not knowing what else to say. He decides to mimic the chef by bowing, figuring this is the most respectful thing to do.

"Uh, yeah, hi…" Toughette echoes, also giving a little bow too as well.

The sushi chef nods happily, then suddenly he takes a quick, thoughtful glance around the room. He nods as though satisfied and brings his attention back to his tiny visitors. "Say, are you all hungry?"

Both Sorcerer and Sorcerette cheer at this inquiry. "Sure!"

"Excellent…!" The chef clasps his hands. "I shall make today's special for all of you then." Right away the chef spins around, claps his hands sharply once and gives a command to one of his assistants. Immediately the young man bows in acknowledgement and runs off to the other end of the kitchen. The sushi chef then turns to the table and begins chopping raw fish and rolling them up with seaweed and rice.

Sorcerer notices the squeamish looks on Hefty's and Toughette's faces, and laughs. "Oh, you're going to love it!" He says, elbowing Hefty's ribs playfully. He adds with a wink, "Trust us, it'll be better if we tell you after you try it first, though."

Within moments the assistant chef returns with four bowls of misu soup. "Follow me," He instructs and goes into a small, private room to his right. There he places them on a low table, which has a smaller table and four chairs standing in the middle of the smooth wooden surface. As the smurfs come into the room, the young man turns around and kneels in front of them.

"Come, honored guests, you must take your proper place in order to enjoy your meal," He gently insists, reaching for them.

The four smurfs step carefully onto the palms of their host's assistant. As soon as they are set down gently upon the table, Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf promptly use their magic to shrink the bowls to smurf size and, with a wave of a hand, cause them to float gingerly onto the smaller table.

Now that they have the first portion of the meal set down, Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf beckon the tough smurfs from the Old Village to sit and join them. Nervous and uncertain, Hefty and Toughette stares apprehensively at the strange dishes in front of them. Seeing their expressions Sorcerette is unable to hold back a snicker.

"Would you two relax?" She grins with amusement, "Just try it…I'm certain you will like it."

With a sceptical glance at the bowl, Hefty points at it and demands, "What is it?"

This time Sorcerer Smurf let out a chuckle and a loud snort. "It's called Misu Soup. Trust us, it's good. You eat it…like this," To demonstrate the procedure on how to consume it, the young smurf picks up his bowl. Bringing it to his lips, Sorcerer takes a sip, put the bowl down and makes a satisfied grin. "Ah, now that is good stuff."

"You can even use these things that are called 'chop sticks' to stir up the soup before eating it." Sorcerette suggested, holding up two small pointy sticks in her right hand. She demonstrates by swirling them in her soup. Thus done, she picks up the bowl and drinks the contents the same way Sorcerer did. "Mmmm…" the multi-coloured hair smurfette purrs, lowering her bowl after a moment.

Still unsure, Hefty turns to his golden-haired mate. She too seems sceptical about the meal they are about to eat. Finally, she gives a nonchalant shrug and bravely picks up the bowl. Carefully she takes a small sip from it. After a moment she pulls the bowl away from her face and pauses for a moment as her taste-buds reacts to the flavour washing over her tongue. To her surprise, Toughette smiles. She does like it after all. "Hm, not bad,' she chimes, and brings the bowl up for another sip.

The ever-cautious Hefty relaxes a little. If Toughette sipped it with no ill effects, it must mean the soup is safe to drink. He picks up the chop sticks and stirs it like how Sorcerette has done it. Then, he takes a careful sip. As he pulls the bowl away as he starts chewing on a piece of tofu, noting the odd flavour which filled his mouth. It doesn't take long for him to decide it is indeed a good soup. With a satisfied nod, Hefty continues to slurp down the rest.

Grinning at how eagerly the tough smurfs are downing the soup, Sorcerer and Sorcerette turn their heads toward one another and wink at each other. The soup is just an appetizer, and both Hefty and Toughette are in for a treat when the delicious entrees come in!

OoOoOoOoOoOo

As instructed beforetime by their elders, Sorcerer and Sorcerette continue their tour around the city on the streets showing Toughette and Hefty Smurf (still feeling full from the amazing lunch they just ate) the dangers, both obvious and subtle, that they should watch out for in the future. There is one danger in particular the young magical smurfs feel necessary to warn the strong smurfs in advance. So, without preamble, they take Hefty and Toughette to an older building in east Vancouver. The whole area seemed to have an aura of negative energy with homeless people loitering on the sidewalks, on staircases in front of buildings, and in the park. Hefty and Toughette are even instructed not to touch anything while they enter this area.

Puzzled, Hefty turns to Sorcerer Smurf. "What are we doing here anyway?" He asks.

"You'll see." The young smurf replies. He pauses his motorcycle and points at the entrance of one of the buildings up ahead. "Shh, here he comes now!"

A middle age, balding man comes out though the main doors of his apartment, grumbling to himself as he walks down the sidewalk towards the corner store. His black hair frizzes out from over his ears to the back of his head. He has a nose that points outward and his lips curl under over his rotting teeth. His clothes are mostly a grey color with sewn on patches on his sweater's elbows. At first Hefty and Toughette are not sure why this man is so important until he gets a little closer. Then the older smurfs take another look at him and realize there is something terribly familiar about him. Their eyes widen, and jaws drop open in shock. _But it can't be…! _

"Is that…_Gargamel?!"_ Hefty bellows in astonishment.

"Actually, his name is Greg Gargiullo," Sorcerer explains calmly, not batting an eye at Hefty's outburst. "The elders believe he could be a direct descendent of that old wizard himself."

"Indeed," Sorcerette nods, "By chance this guy must have found his great, great, great, great grandfather's old books and discovered about us. It was by chance he also seen us accidentally one day. We were with Snappy at the time and was visiting one of our human friends when our uniforms started having problems. Gargiullo was in the area at the time and that is when he spotted us. _Oops_." Sorcerette chuckled sheepishly. "Since then he have been trying to track us down." She glances at Hefty and Toughette and makes a wry face. "Fortunately for us, he thinks we live in the sewers for some reason, _yuck_ by-the-way. Let's hope he never thinks of looking for us up in the mountains!"

Sorcerer continues, "The reason he may think we live in sewers is that he saw us escaping from one of his traps down there. Yeah, that guy tries to invent crazy inventions all the time just to track us down and trap us if he can!" With that, Sorcerer throws back his head and laugh uproariously.

Hefty snorts. "Sounds familiar," he whispers in an aside to Toughette, who giggles in response.

"All he needs is a scruffy orange cat for a sidekick!" The golden-haired smurfette declares, and Hefty laughs along with her.

"Come on, the tour isn't over yet!" Sorcerette says, beckoning them. With that, the smurfs turn away from the scene and head toward the other parts of the city to learn more about the other dangers.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf decides that after the tour Hefty and Toughette need a nice quiet spot to wind down, and they save the best place for last - a tall hill that is a park within the part of Vancouver known as Burnaby Mountain. There they take Hefty and Toughette up the hill, and soon the smurfs are sitting amiably and enjoying the view of the city below.

What a day it has been! So many things to see, and yet it seem there are not enough hours in the day to take it all in. For Hefty and Toughette, this whole week just had been an eye popping experience. From the moment when they sacrificed their freedom to save the remaining eight surviving smurfs to the day when Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf woke them up in the cave – their world has literally been turned upside down. The two strong smurfs could scarcely figure out how in a million years that fish could be eaten raw, and this afternoon they did…not only that, but they even enjoyed it. And, just moments ago, the young magical smurfs had taken them to see what they called a 'matinee' movie. Never before have the two tough smurfs from the medieval ages seen pictures that moved before their very own eyes! It would be something they would not forget easily. Yes indeed, this world will take some getting use to, especially all the loud, jarring noise coming from machines. It seems that everything nowadays makes a noise of all kinds. How can a smurf think with all of the honking, thundering, rumbling, and banging going on? Regardless of all the craziness going on in this new world, Hefty and Toughette had to admit that it is far more fascinating than the old world they left behind them, so long ago.

With an impish grin, Sorcerer turns to face Hefty. "So what do you think of this city?"

Hefty frowns and takes in a deep breath. "It's so different from the world I used to grow up, back in the days of the Old Village."

"The Elders say the same thing." Sorcerette comments, nodding agreeably. "They told us that even though they were able to grow up with the changes it still astonishes them on how this world has developed over the centuries."

"Wow, that's for sure!" Toughette likewise nods and continues gazing at the bustling city down there.

Sorcerette lets out a deep, regretful sigh and looks back over her shoulder at their smurf-sized motorcycles. "Speaking of the Elders, we should get back or Brainy might give us one of his 'you did not follow my schedule – your late!' speeches." She says, shaking her index finger in the air and trying to mimic Brainy's lecturing tone at the same time,

Hefty can't help but burst out laughing at that comment. "It's nice to know that some things have not changed much, after all!"

As the four young smurfs head back to the bikes, Sorcerer suddenly has a wonderful idea. "Say Hefty, Toughette, would you two like to learn how to ride the bikes on the way back?"

Hefty and Toughette stop dead in their tracks, paralysed with the thought of riding those noisy things. With a worried expression, they turn to look at each other, wondering if the other is thinking the same thing. Eventually Toughette shrugs, and opens her mouth to reply.

"Well," She says hesitantly, looking steadily at Hefty, "I suppose if we are going to be a part of this world, we might as well learn how to be mobile in it."

Hefty nods in agreement. "I guess you're right, Toughette."

Sorcerer gives them the thumbs up and plants himself right on the passenger seat. He pats gently on the empty driver's seat in front of him, inviting Hefty to take his place. With a gulp, Hefty gingerly saddles the motorcycle in front of Sorcerer. He glances nervously down at the different gears and control panels, wondering silently to himself what he should do next. In fact, should he be even doing this anyhow?

"Ok, first things first, Hefty. Don't be nervous!" Sorcerer chuckles softly, sensing the tension in Hefty. "Now, just reach over and push that red button. That will turn on the engine!"

It takes a moment of frantic searching for the hard-to-find button, but Hefty finally located it on one of the handlers. He takes a breath and presses it. The vibration of the engine suddenly rumbles to life underneath him, startling Hefty so much that he nearly jumps off. It takes Sorcerer a few moments of patting him reassuringly on the back, coaxing Hefty to calm down and to stay seated on the vibrating biker. Finally Hefty relax and inclines his head to let Sorcerer know he is O.K.

"So far, so good, huh?" The young magical smurf says encouragingly, "Alright, now the next thing you need to do is grab the handles and ease off of that bar there, which is called the clutch."

Hefty does as he is instructed, still feeling very much nervous over this whole thing. As he wraps his hands around the handlers he is suddenly reminded of an incident a long time ago, when Handy Smurf invented smurf-mobiles. Hefty smiles faintly to himself at the old memory, remembering how everyone in the village just had to have one, except Papa Smurf and himself. Back then, Hefty would rather walk, or jog to anywhere he wanted to go. But this case is different. The new world seems so much bigger now, and learning how to ride this thing might come in handy someday.

Hefty looks over and sees that Toughette is already moving onto the next step. She has managed to move the bike forward a bit. Although it isn't as smooth as when Sorcerette rode it, Toughette seems to be catching on quickly through Sorcerette's instructions – not to mention her 'magical' support. Hefty realizes then that Sorcerer too is giving him a little support with magic as well. It is sort of like training wheels for when a child first learns how to ride a two-wheeled bike instead of a tricycle. Hefty does not complain though. In fact, he is beginning to feel more confident riding this bike now, being in control of it, and knowing that Sorcerer Smurf is lending a hand. Inwardly Hefty greatly appreciate that.

For the next several minutes Hefty and Toughette ride the bikes around in the field for a couple of laps in the field to get hang of it. Then Sorcerer leans to Hefty's ear. "Enjoying the ride so far, Hefty?" He asks.

"Yeah, this is fun!" Hefty declares happily, feeling proud of himself for handling the biker so ably.

"Good," Sorcerer says. "Now it's time to take this lesson to the next level. Helmets secure!" he chimes, snapping his fingers. The protective visors slide magically from the smurf helmets over their faces. "Now let's head back down towards the highway…don't worry, Hefty, I won't let us crash or anything!" He adds, showing off his glowing hand that indicates he has some control over what the bike is doing.

"Ok then," Hefty sighs. Despite his handling of the bike and the Sorcerer's reassurances, the tough smurf could not help feeling quite nervous about the whole thing. "Here we go."

Both Toughette and Hefty Smurf turn the bikes towards the road that would take them down into the highway toward home.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Brainy is pacing the garage anxiously. Now and then, he would glance down at his watch and his anxiety goes up a notch each time he sees the hours ticking away. With a grumbling groan, he imagines a stern talk he would be having with young Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf. He had told them to be back at a certain time, and yet they had not come home. It is already getting quite dark out there with no visible moon to be seen. Why do these young smurfs test him so? Brainy is of course worrying about his brother, Hefty and his mate Toughette. Perhaps it is too soon to let them go on a tour of the city? Would it be too much for Hefty and Toughette to take it all in? What if they got lost? Naw, Sorcerer would have called by now if they were. What if that crazy old man, Greg Gargiullo, captured them? What if they were hurt or worse? Brainy let out another groan as he pivots on his heel and, with a little assistance with his cane, he paces in the other direction fretting all the while to himself.

Brainette quietly comes into the garage and watches Brainy, her beloved mate for the past five and half centuries, moving forth and back. She shakes her head sadly. She hates it when he is all worked up like this. With an aggravated sigh, Brainette walks over to Brainy.

"Brainy, if you keep pacing this spot you will wear out a path in the floor," She comments dryly.

"They're late!" Brainy snaps back, tugging at his beard in distress.

"I realize that, love," Brainette soothes, "but you must remember this is a big city. They probably got carried away in their tour." As Brainy snorts and resumes pacing, the bespectacled smurfette gives a little smile as she tries to find a way to reassure him. "Knowing Sorcerer and Sorcerette, they probably took Hefty and Toughette to see a matinee. They did say something about wanting to see the latest release of _Cosmic Ninjas_…or something like that." She says with a small shrug.

Brainy was about to make a sharp reply when the familiar rumbling noise of the motorcycles' engine brings his attention around quickly towards the entrance of the garage. "It's about time!" He cries, watching keenly as the headlights come bobbing into view in the darkness. Soon the bikes roar into the garage, and immediately Brainy hobbles toward them, eager to give them what for. But just as suddenly he lets out a shocked gasp and stops abruptly in his track when one of the bikes did a sharp turn, the tires squealing across the concrete floor as it skid slightly, and finally comes to a stop. _'How could he pull a stunt like that with Hefty aboard?'_ Brainy thought angrily. Now even more eager to lecture the crazy young magical smurf, the red-capped elder raises his cane and begins shaking it with fury at the driver. The smurfs straddling the motorcycle look at Brainy as though in surprise. Then the driver reaches down, turns off the engine, and looks at Brainy once more, his face hidden behind the black visor.

"Sorcerer! You're late!" Brainy bellows, "How many times do I have to explain the importance of safety and regulations in traveling with a passenger on that crazy contraption you call a motorcycle?!"

Before the white-bearded elder could say another word, the driver removes his helmet and grins at him.

"Geez, Brainy, you don't have to yell," Hefty says with a smirk. "And besides, I'm just learning how to ride these things."

Brainy stood speechless, almost beside himself with shock. "Hefty…?" he finally sputters, "You rode the motorcycle yourself…?"

"Yeah, well, with some help of course…" The strong smurf shrugs, unsure of what else to say.

Sorcerer takes his helmet off, laughing at Brainy's stunned expression. "I think Hefty did smurfingly well for his first time, don't you think, Elder?" Sorcerer asks impishly, throwing his arm around Hefty's shoulder. "By the way, dude, nice execution move when we entered here!"

"Um, thanks…I think…" Hefty smiles sheepishly.

"You too, Toughette," Sorcerette says with a wink. "I think you and Hefty will fit in nicely here."

"Great," the golden-haired smurfette replies with a hint of sarcasm. She notices Brainette and turns to her. "Say, I'm starving; you don't suppose there is food left in the kitchen?" Toughette asks her hopefully. "All of this sightseeing really packs an appetite!"

"Sure," Brainette says with a nod. "There are four plates left in the fridge for you guys. Sorcerette, you show them how they can warm up their meals in the microwave, ok?"

"Sure thing! Come on, Toughette!" Sorcerette motions for the strong smurfette to follow her to the kitchen, and they soon leave the garage through the door. Sorcerer nods to Hefty and, leaving their helmets on the bike, they follow Sorcerette and Toughette

"Wait, Hefty," Brainy calls out just before his now younger brother steps through the door after Sorcerer. The brawny smurf stops and looks curiously back. Brainy beckons for him to walk side by side along with him and Brainette, and then clears his throat. "So, um, Hefty… What did you think of the city?"

"Loud," Hefty answers simply.

Brainy smiles. "Yes, it is rather noisy, isn't it?" He says, nodding in agreement. Out of curiosity, the red-capped elder asks, "You mind telling me what you guys did on your tour?"

Hefty takes a deep breath as though collecting his thoughts. "Well, we saw parks, streets, more streets, buildings…_tall buildings_ – most of them made of glass, even." He says, briefly describing his day, "And a sushi place, oh, and a moving picture show - a movie I think it's called. It had something do with ninjas in space. I can't remember the name of it though…"

"_Cosmic Ninjas_…?" Brainy suggests in a bland tone.

"Yeah, that was it, Hefty nods as he enters the kitchen, "Very interesting indeed."

Brainette smiles and jabs Brainy on the arm with her elbow. "Told you." She declares proudly. If there is something she likes more than anything in life, it is to be proved right about a certain thing. In this case, her prediction of the young smurfs seeing a specific movie is right on the dime. Brainy simply rolls his eyes skyward as he follows her through the door into the kitchen.


	20. Epilogue

**Chapter 2****0: Epilogue**

Hefty walks down the well-treaded path towards a large meadow by the Smurf Community. He is wearing white shorts, red shoes, black torn sleeve shirt, white hat, and a pair of shades over his eyes. It has been three months already ever since Hefty and Toughette woke up to the new, unfamiliar world. So far it feels like it has been three years, but now Hefty seems to be adjusting nicely to his new home. In fact, he and Toughette often enjoys their times taking care of the smurflings, as well as the times with Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf in riding the motor bikes into town to see either a movie or visiting their human friends. As the brawny smurf heads for the playing field, he adjusts the sunglasses slightly so they don't slip off his nose. Noticing smurflings at play, he stops to watch and smiles at the youngsters eagerly participate in their vigorous games with youthful joy.

So much has changed indeed. Smurflings don't play like they used to in his day. Smurf-ball had been the usual sport Hefty and his brothers used to play, many years ago. Some of the smurfs from Old Village would fish, while others play other simple little games like leap-frog. Not so in the new world, though. The games the smurflings are playing are much more sophisticated and complicated nowadays, such as football among other things. Hefty notices that not all the youngsters are actively involved in complex teamwork games, though. Scanning across the field Hefty observes smurflings sitting quietly by themselves, engrossed in small things such as hand-held video games. Still others are gliding on what are known as skateboards and rollerblades. Sure, there is still some smurflings playing the classic smurf-ball games, but those are the only odd group out of all others. Even so, the small group of smurflings are playing the old-fashioned games with slightly different rules to them.

That is not all; Hefty himself had been involved in those new sports that he finds to be fun and challenging at the same time like basketball, lacrosse, and especially hockey. Last month Snappy, Sassette, Sorcerette and Sorcerer Smurf, along with a small group of smurflings took Hefty and Toughette down to the city and into a building called a Rec-Center. There Hefty and Toughette visited the ice rink for the first time and had learned what a hockey does. They had gone very early in the morning before the rink opened to the public, so they were able to play without many humans around to trample them on the ice, and no time Hefty and Toughette became thoroughly hooked on hockey. It was just so much fun!

There had been a few times during their trips down in the city, though, that Greg Gargiullo, a descendant of the evil wizard known as Gargamel, came close in capturing the smurfs. But with quick thinking and knowledge of the best strategies, the smurfs had escaped Gargiullo's grasping hands unharmed, many times. Just thinking about Greg Gargiullo makes Hefty shivers slightly and worries for the smurflings' safety and future. He doesn't want the same fate to come to them as it had to the Old Village. Still, even to this day, Hefty can feel his heart aching with regret that he was unable to do anything to prevent the death of his brothers and friends so long time ago. Subconsciously, he lets out a heavy sigh.

"Something on your mind, smiley?" A soft, feminine voice coos just slightly off to the right of Hefty. It doesn't take him long to recognize the sarcastic tone and smiles. He turns to see a beautiful smurfette with golden hair, pinned back into a long ponytail. She is wearing her new black shorts, pink and black tank-top, light grey smurf hat and sneakers. Toughette is also wearing a snazzy pair of sunglasses on her face. It is certainly a perfectly bright day to be wearing them. Hefty can't help but to smile at the sight of her. How smurfy she looks! Even if she doesn't wear many dresses, these new, fashionable sporty outfits make her more beautiful then ever.

"Oh, nothing much, just stuff," Hefty replies, still smiling. "How about you?"

"Well," Toughette begins in a slight stutter, unsure of how she wants to answer him. "Um… Yeah, stuff…"

For a moment the couple just stand there gazing at each other in silence. A movement up on balcony at smurf's community home not far off catches Hefty's eye. "Hey, there's Brainy," he says in surprise, "I wonder what he's doing up there?"

Toughette turns around to look where her boyfriend is pointing at.

"Oh yeah, I've seen him up there before," she replies, "He just watches the smurflings and doing something on that thing…what is it called again?" She pauses again, fumbling for the word for the object that Brainy is often fond of using. Tapping her finger on her chin, Toughette ponders on the right word that would at least describe the metallic object in Brainy's hand. Suddenly it comes to her and she perks up with a smile. "Oh yeah - a palm pilot!"

Hefty's curiosity is piqued at what is going on with Brainy. "Perhaps I should go up, then," he says, "And see what exactly he is doing."

Toughette nods. "Alright, but don't be too long," she says, "it's almost time to round up these smurflings up for their afternoon classes." She grins at him, "After that it will be our turn to give them a real workout in a game of 'Capture the Flag' before washing them up for dinner!" She adds this with a warning wink.

"I know," Hefty leans over and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "I won't be long." Then he starts heading toward the smurf's community home in the mountain cave.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Brainy stands quietly, leaning slightly against the railing and peering down at his little smurflings playing in the meadow. In the position he is in, the red-capped elder have a good view of the entire field and every single smurf, smurfette, and especially smurflings below. Of all the places he had been, this is his favorite spot in the entire Smurf Community. Using his palm pilot pen, he mutters out numbers as he does a head count of each of the smurflings below. After counting a certain amount, Brainy jots it down on the palm pilot before continuing to count a second group in another part of the field. He even includes the older smurfs in the head count as well.

He is so busy counting he doesn't notice a certain smurf entering the room just behind him. Smirking a bit, Hefty walks to the open glass sliding door which separates the balcony from the living room, and steps out through it to take a stand just a bit to the right of his older brother. Puzzled, Hefty watches as the older elder continues to move the palm pilot pen in the air. _'What is he doing?'_ Hefty wonders silently to himself, removing the sunglasses from his face to see better.

What is even more baffling is the fact that Brainy doesn't even acknowledge the fact there is another smurf besides him on the balcony. After a few moments of watching Hefty can't take it anymore; he clears his throat loudly enough to cause Brainy to jolt slightly.

Startled, Brainy spins his head around to see who had snuck up on him without him knowing it. With a sigh of relief he realizes it is only Hefty.

"Geez, Hefty, you scared the daylights out of me!" Brainy groans. "What is up with you this time?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing." Hefty chuckles sheepishly. "I was just curious on what you were doing up here."

"Oh…I'm just doing a head count of all the smurfs," Brainy answers simply as he proceeds to do one last count of the final group below.

The young strong smurf perks up with interest. "You mean how Papa Smurf used to count heads back in the Old Village?"

Brainy nods. "Well, in a matter of speaking, yeah." With a satisfied sigh and a smile, he jots the remaining number down on the palm pilot and mentally adds the calculations together.

"There, all 230 smurflings are accounted for. Plus you and I, along with Snappy, Slouchy, Sassette, Nat, Sorcerette, and Sorcerer Smurf making 240 smurfs altogether." Brainy proudly states as he closes his palm pilot up in its protective case and put it in his pocket. Hefty lets out a little whistle, impressed with the numbers of the living smurfs out there.

"Whoa, that is quite a count…" Then Hefty notices Brainy gazing down at the smurflings with a sad look on his grizzled face. Concerned, the brawny brother leans towards him. "Hey, what's wrong?" Hefty asks softly.

"Wha…?" Brainy blinks, his mind still somewhere else. Shaking his head slightly, Brainy realizes what his younger brother is asking him. "Oh, I'm just thinking of Papa Smurf and the others from the Old Village. I wonder what they might say about all of this."

Hefty cocks his head to one side and raises his eyebrow. With a smirk he reaches out, places a reassuring hand on Brainy's shoulder and speaks to him in a respectful manner.

"You know, Brainy, I think if Papa Smurf were here to see what you've done, I'd say he'd be very proud. Even the other smurfs would agree to that," Hefty grins slightly, "And, you know, that is a lot coming from me!"

To Brainy, that was the most touching thing anyone has ever said. As a young smurf he'd often hoped the other smurfs would think that way of him, including Papa Smurf himself. But with all that was going on after the disaster of the Old Village, Brainy has just been more worried about the well being of the surviving smurfs to fuel his own ego. With tears in his eyes, Brainy tilts his head up at his younger brother and says softly, "Thank you."

Hefty smiles back at his older brother. Then, glancing at the watch, he looks at the red-capped elder again. "Um, it's getting time to start rounding up the smurflings for their afternoon lessons."

Brainy inclines his head in understanding. "Yeah, I myself need to prepare for my group for their pop quiz." He says amicably, "We can talk again later, perhaps after you put the young ones to bed."

"Sure. Later, Brainy."

Brainy watches his strong brother walk back out the door and is soon out of sight. With a heavy sigh, the older elder too leaves the balcony, preparing to collect his papers for his class session with the second group of smurflings of the day.

THE END!

Author's Note: I sincerely hope you have enjoyed "How Things Smurf" as well as the Smurfette Village and Return to the Smurfette Village. Hopefully soon I'll have time to start writing the fourth and final story to this saga. Thanks for taking the time to read my story. Don't forget to leave me a review, I often like to hear from you and your comments.

A special thanks goes to my beta-reader, Tabby for her help with this story.

Stay Creative.


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